Trysts and Turns
by ElleMalfoy65
Summary: Three years after the war, the Ministry is holding yet another victory gala that Pansy must attend. On her way through the Leaky Cauldron, she trips and lands in Harry Potter's arms. From that moment, she can't get him off her mind. When they meet later at the gala, those haunting green eyes and firewhiskey leads to a tryst and an unexpected turn in her life. P.P./H.P.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay, so I have Soulies, Blackians, SYWLGers, Allers, and how many more? I really did not expect or think I would start up another WIP, but this one...I saw a little prompt on a Dramione fanfic rec group of Facebook and thought I would write one similar to it. Dramione, of course. But our characters have a strange way of making themselves known. Pansy being the attention loving little chit that she is, demanded the story be about her. So, I complied. Now, this isn't the first Hansy, or Pots and Pans, whichever you prefer, that I have had in the works. I did a short one for Slytherinmomma88 to put in her fic, The Misadventures into Debauchery, which she needs to get back to work on. I also have one in the works based on an Ed Sheeran song, which will be a part of a trilogy focusing on three of my HP OTP's. But this is the first one that has completely and utterly captured my entire attention and burrowed itself into my mind, heart, soul and will not let go. That being said, I am proud of myself for this chapter, as well as the next, which is already written as both put this fic over 15K already. I really hope that you enjoy this. Let me know what you think.**

 **Fair warning, there are lemons in this prologue.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. J.K. owns all. It's her world, I just play in it.**

 **XoXo,**

 **Elle.**

Prologue

May 2001

Pansy walked into the run-down pub, looking around at the evening crowd, shaking her head. These people were like cattle, following the herd. She had never understood that mentality. She was always the type to follow her own lead, do things her own way - not that she didn't have her own followers when she was in Hogwarts. But that was just how those girls' brains worked - she couldn't help that.

She supposed that the people in here did have a reason to celebrate, though. It was the third anniversary of Potter and gang defeating old snake face. It was Pansy's own damn fault for coming into The Leaky Cauldron anyway. But she needed to get into Diagon Alley and go to Twilfitt and Tattings. There was a stupid damn Ministry Gala tonight honoring the Golden Trio for winning, and naturally the families of the Sacred Twenty-eight were expected to be in attendance. Or at least the ones who had been cleared of their crimes.

Pansy worked her way through the crowd, grumbling again about stupid cattle. Her foot got caught around someone else's and she stumbled into someone. "Woah there! You alright?"

Hazel eyes met brilliant green and Pansy had to stop herself from rolling them. She pushed herself into a standing position, straightening her clothes. "I'm fine, Potter." She flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder and lifted her nose into the air. "These idiots can't keep their feet where they belong. On the floor. Later, Potter."

Pansy continued her previous course through the crowd, now more carefully. She could feel those green eyes watching her as she left, but she didn't give the Boy Who Lived Twice a second glance. The same couldn't be said for her thoughts, though.

She finally made it into the small clearing behind the pub, pulling her wand from her purse and tapping the red bricks in front of her, their fronts worn from the years and years of use. Pansy couldn't help but recall the way those green eyes had bore into hers. Like they were seeing past her haughty and proud exterior, past her carefully constructed walls. It was a little unnerving. The only other person who had ever been able to do that was that evil monster, Voldemort, the first and only time she had met him.

Pansy shuddered in the May heat as a rush of goosebumps lifted her flesh, causing her hair to raise from her scalp. She tried to shake it off as she stepped through the archway into Diagon Alley en route to her destination. She really hoped that Twilfitt and Tattings had what she needed. Muggle London had had many options, but nothing like what she had been looking for.

As she walked by the shops, most of them already closed for the evening, she slid her hands into the pockets of the Muggle jeans she was wearing. Pansy had taken to buying most of her clothes from the Muggle world - they just fit her style better than anything she could find in wizarding fashion.

Again those damn vibrant green eyes floated through her mind and she cursed under her breath, stopping under a lamp. Her fingers closed around a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, slipping them from her pocket. Pansy pulled one of the white cigarettes from the plastic package and placed it between her lips, slipping the pack back into her pocket before bringing the lighter to the tip and flicking the flint wheel. She cupped her hand around it to block any slight breeze that may be blowing and watched as the small flame flared to life.

Sure, it would be easier and more efficient to use her wand. But she liked the little Muggle lighter. As she took the first drag on the cigarette, she held the breath in for as long as she could. Pansy had laced the cigarettes with a wizarding relaxant and she was letting that absorb into her lungs.

Slowly, the tension left Pansy's shoulders and she released the breath, the smoke leaving her lips in a white stream. "Pull yourself together, Parkinson."

She hated being on edge, truly she did. But it was a leftover side effect from the war she supposed. While she knew that Potter was not a malicious person, nor was he a skilled Legilimens, it had still felt that way when their eyes had connected. That had made her reach for her cigarettes, which she only used in times of stress.

Pansy pushed off from the street lamp and began walking down the pavement once again, the cigarette never leaving her lips for long. By the time she got to the dress shop, she was down to the butt of the white stick and she put it out on the pavement. The mistress of the shop opened the door for her with a wide smile, "Welcome, Miss Parkinson."

XxX

Ron had asked Harry to meet him at the Leaky after work. Normally Harry would have declined, but today was different. Today was a day they always needed a drink and company. Three years had passed. Three incredibly long, yet short years since he had defeated Voldemort. In those years, Hogwarts had been rebuilt, renovated and reimagined. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been elected Minister and had taken the reigns, flipping the Ministry on its head. It had been completely overhauled, the old regime and way of doing things had been thrown out. Creating a new pathway for equality among wizardkind, no matter blood status.

Harry was dreading yet another Ministry Gala in his and his best friends' honor. He was actually planning out the conversation he was going to have with Kingsley tonight.

He had been standing at one of the tall tables so that he could see when Ron came in when a body slammed into him. All he saw was black hair in carefully constructed barrel curls. "Woah there! You alright?" he asked.

When those hazel eyes met his, he was taken aback. He was staring down at Pansy Parkinson. The last time he'd seen her was at Hogwarts, before everything went to shite. Well, no, that wasn't quite right. Harry had seen her at the first two of the Ministry's events, but just glimpses of her.

Harry was so lost in taking in her appearance that he didn't hear a word she said. Then she was moving away, back through the crowd, heading for the entrance to Diagon Alley. He was watching her intently when a hand landed on his shoulder, "Hey mate, sorry I'm late."

"Ron!" Harry nearly shouted as he turned around. His eyes blinked rapidly, his heart beating the same. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

Ron held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, but in my defense, I did call your name first. What were you looking at anyway?"

"Just had a run in with a blast from our past," Harry said, knocking back the remainder of the firewhiskey he'd been nursing.

Ron's eyes followed where Harry had been looking. "Malfoy?"

Harry shook his head, his eyes on the empty tumbler in front of him. "Pansy Parkinson."

Wide and shocked blue eyes turned to greet Harry. "No way. She's been kind of reclusive since her family's trial." A waitress interrupted them, asking for Ron's drink order and Harry ordered another Firewhiskey for himself.

"I know, but hell, both her parents were sent to Azkaban for a very long time. I'd want to stay out of the public eye, too. I just don't understand why her mother's sentence was so long, Mrs. Parkinson wasn't a Death Eater." Harry wondered out loud, his mind already back at the office, thinking about just where the Parkinson's file was located. He'd have to look into that, something didn't seem right about that. Surely Pansy's mother was less involved than Narcissa Malfoy had been.

The waitress returned, placing their drinks in front of them. She lingered, her eyes trailing over both Harry and Ron, assessing them. Most people did. Most women fawned over them. They were the guys of the "Golden Trio" as they had been dubbed. Ron adored the attention, soaked it in, took numerous chits back to his room all the time. But Harry hated it. The interest in him had become even more intense since the news of his and Ginny's break up had hit the _Prophet_ last week.

He and Ginny had tried to make their relationship work, they truly had, but in the end, the war had just changed them both too much. They both still loved each other, but more in a friendly, platonic way than the romantic kind that they had before the war. She even still lived at Grimmauld Place with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and they talked every day.

Suddenly those deep hazel eyes floated by in his thoughts again and he remembered what she she had been wearing. A worn and faded black shirt with an AC/DC logo on the front, tight black Muggle jeans with rips all along the legs and fishnet stockings underneath. If their encounter had been longer, he'd probably have gotten over his surprised shock and asked her about her choice in clothing, but she had been gone before he could recover from his momentary speechlessness.

"You ready for tonight, mate?" Ron asked him, bringing Harry back to the present.

Harry grimaced, taking a sip of his drink and shaking his head. "No, not at all. I hate these damn galas. I'm going to talk to Kingsley tonight about doing them maybe every five years. Give the world time to heal without poking at a fresh wound every damn year." He glanced at his watch and sighed, "Come on, we'd better go and get ready."

XxX

Pansy was looking between two mirrors that were replaying the image of her in two different dresses. Both were a deep maroon, but not that horrid color that Gryffindors wore - instead they were a gorgeous deep color that reminded her of her favorite knit blanket on long winter nights. Nights she loved to spend curled up next to the fire with a steaming mug of coffee and a nice long novel.

Both were crop top dresses. The one on the left was all lace short sleeves with the chest, shoulders, and sleeves all made of lace. The skirt was see through from mid-thigh down, the lace providing just enough mystery. It was stunning, actually. Her eyes turned to the mirror on the left hand side - another beautiful choice. The skirt was nothing spectacular like the first choice, but the top more than made up for it. A sweetheart neckline with a deep plunge, and where the straps came up over the shoulders, they split in two. The back was twisted and looped in intricate patterns.

It was going to be so hard to choose. Pansy flicked her wand to change her hairstyles on the images. She tilted her head and tapped her wand tip against her lips. "What to choose, what to choose?"

"Well, Miss Parkinson, they both looked divine on you. You could buy both since you're having such a hard time deciding. I'm sure you're going to need them both for more than one occasion." The shop owner smiled sweetly at Pansy and Pansy rolled her eyes at the wrinkled old witch.

"You just want my Galleons, Madam Tattings. But I do believe you're right. Though I do need to make a decision now. I only have a couple of hours until the gala. I know somewhere, in this genius mind of mine, that I have made a decision. My wand will know me better." Pansy closed her eyes and used the spell that she used regularly to help pick out her outfits. Her wand began spinning in her hand before stopping.

When her eyes opened, the yew wand in her hand was pointing to the mirror on her left. Pansy tilted her head as she looked at the lace dress. This was going to be perfect for tonight. "I will take them both, Madam Tattings. While you have them packed up, I'll go and pay old Twilfitt."

The other witch gave her a nod, a beaming smile on her face at the idea of such a large sale. Pansy watched as a receipt zoomed its way toward the front of the store and followed it. The old wizard at the front desk was sitting on a stool, looking winded. He was still in the same spot he'd been in when she had walked in a couple of hours ago and hadn't moved, "Ah, Miss Parkinson, how lovely to see you in here once again. We're glad to have you back." His fat and grubby hand lifted to snatch the paper flying around his head. "Is this all you'll be purchasing today? No shoes for these gorgeous dresses?"

"I have plenty of shoes at home, Mister Twilfitt, but thank you for your suggestion. This will be all." He gave her the total of her purchases and she easily summoned the money she needed from her purse, too lazy to physically count it out. She stacked the money in neat piles and her hazel eyes watched as Twilfitt levitated the money into his drawer.

Madam Tattings brought up the carefully wrapped package with Pansy's dresses and handed them over with a smile. "Thank you for your business, Miss Parkinson. We hope to see you again soon."

Pansy gave the woman a rare, genuine smile, "You're welcome, Madam Tattings. I may be back soon, we'll see. Have a nice evening." She left quickly, opting for the nearest Apparition point. She didn't want to chance running into Potter again in the Leaky.

XxX

Harry and Ron arrived at the Gala on time, checking in with the witch at the visitor's desk of the Ministry. Why Kingsley insisted on holding these things here, Harry didn't understand, but that was the Minister's prerogative.

"C'mon mate, let's go and grab a drink. My buzz is already starting to fade." When they had gotten back home, they'd each taken a bottle of Firewhiskey to their respective rooms to get dressed. In an out-of-character act of defiance, Harry chose to wear a Muggle suit tonight instead of wizard robes. He honestly hated the damn things. They were hot and bulky and just got in the way. And besides, most of the women didn't wear robes to these functions, with the exception of witches like Narcissa Malfoy.

Harry followed Ron over to the bar, asking for a Firewhiskey and waiting for the drink. His eyes scanned the crowd. The few years he'd been an Auror had sharpened his senses considerably. When a cold glass hit his palm, he thanked the bartender and left to walk around the room with Ron. The girls of number twelve Grimmauld Place would be arriving "fashionably late," or so Ginny had told Ron.

"Where is your head?" Ron asked from beside him.

A slightly shaking hand came up to run through Harry's always unruly black hair. "I dunno, mate. It's just been a long day." But Harry did know. He couldn't get that run-in with Pansy out of his mind. It was as if the moment had been branded onto his conscious. She was going to be here. The Parkinsons were part of the Sacred Twenty-eight. Since most of those families had been aligned with Voldemort, the Ministry had decreed that the cleared members were required to attend the galas.

Harry took a long drink of the alcohol that was sweating in his hand, his eyes scanning the crowds. Pansy was now on his list of names to talk to tonight. His eyes landed on one of Kingsley's unique hats and he glanced over at Ron. "There's Kingsley. I'll be back."

He began weaving his way through the sea of people that had already gathered. Merlin, how he hated these gatherings. "Kingsley!"

The tall, dark-skinned man turned to look at Harry. "Harry! There you are, my boy. Not that many here. But it's still early yet. I saw young Mr. Weasley, but where is our dear Hermione?"

"She and Ginny were still getting ready when we left, they should be arriving soon. I actually came over here to talk to you about the galas. I think we should skip next year." Harry said, taking a small sip of his drink, gauging the MInister's reaction.

As expected, Kingsley balked at the idea, his dark eyes widening in surprise, "But Harry, the end of the war is a cause for celebration! Why would we not rejoice at the defeat of Lord Voldemort?"

Harry sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, pinching it with his fingers. "I didn't say that we should stop them completely, Minister. I simply said we should skip next year. Have one the year following and then every five years hence. Continuing to have these parties annually will only keep the wound open. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and I have been talking about this. If we have them every half decade, it will allow the pain to fade, the gaping wounds to begin to close and the community to heal as a whole."

Kingsley listened patiently, his hands on his hips, head angled down and eyes on the floor. When Harry had finished talking, Kingsley ran his tongue along his teeth, making a sucking noise. "I suppose you're right, Harry. I guess I didn't see it that way. I will set it up with the events department on Monday."

Harry was only half listening to Kingsley agreeing to his suggestion, he caught sight of dark hair and a flash of a maroon dress. "Thanks, Kingsley, truly. I think it will be for the best. Now, if you'll excuse me, I see someone else I need to speak with." He didn't give the Minister a chance to reply, just started to weave his way through the people, moving his head to look for the dark hair in the lazy, but elegant updo. "Pansy?"

The woman he was tailing either didn't hear him, or did, but chose to ignore him. Harry didn't care what it would look like to others, he lengthened his stride, quickening his pace to catch up with her. When he got close enough he touched her shoulder gently, "Hey."

XxX

Pansy had arrived, intending to check in, spend an hour and leave. That was what she usually did. An hour was the minimum amount of time required by the Ministry for her to be there. But that was before she heard her name. Pansy knew that voice, it had been on a near constant loop in her head for hours. Instead, she increased her pace, not even wobbling in the sky high heels.

She couldn't help the sharp intake of breath at his warm touch on her shoulder and his soft, "Hey." Pansy closed her eyes for a moment before she plastered a smirk on her face and turned around to meet those disarming emerald eyes.

"Hey yourself, Potter. I told you I'd be seeing you later." A smile pulled at his lips, and Pansy's stomach did a flip. Why had she never really noticed how handsome he was before?

"That you did." Pansy watched as Harry's eyes traveled down her body and she saw him inhale, the action stuttered as if he were having trouble breathing smoothly, and his eyes flared as if he liked what he saw. Pansy's smirk widened. "Like what you see, Potter?"

Harry's eyes snapped back up to her face, a slight flush crossing his cheeks. "Please, call me Harry. I do, as a matter of fact. You look beautiful tonight, Pansy," he said, guileless and without remorse. The truth in his words was reflected in his eyes. Eyes that Pansy was once again having trouble meeting, even if she towered over him slightly in her heels.

They seemed to peer into her soul. If she was honest with herself, it terrified her. Anything that terrified her as much as what she was feeling now was something she needed to steer away from. "Well, don't stare too much, Harry. I wouldn't want the little miss to get too jealous. Oh look, there's Draco."

She had never been so grateful to see that head of platinum blond in her entire life. Pansy left Harry where he stood and made a trail straight for Draco, attaching herself to his side. "Thank Merlin you're here."

Draco looked down at her, one pale brow arching questioningly. "What has your knickers in a knot?"

"I've just escaped," Pansy said, by way of explanation.

"Escaped from whom?" Draco rolled his eyes, knowing Pansy's loathing for social interaction.

"Ha-Potter." Pansy caught herself, almost calling him Harry to Draco. That damn black haired git was already under her skin and they'd only talked for five minutes. She leaned her head against Draco's arm, sighing softly, alerting Draco to her conflicting emotions.

Pansy felt Draco's finger hook under her chin and she fought the pull of his hand pulling her face up. One look into those grey eyes and she'd spill everything. Or he'd decipher that something had happened and hound it out of her. Probably a little bit of both. But in the end Draco won.

Those grey eyes found hers and locked on. Years of being best friends, living in the Slytherin dorms, late night talks and their travels around Europe after graduation had attuned them to each other. "What happened with Potter to make you so unraveled?"

A spoiled and childish whine left her lips before she recounted what happened in The Leaky Cauldron. All the while, Draco's brows couldn't decide if they wanted to rise into his hairline or drop toward his nose. "Pans, I know you don't want to hear this, but I think it's high time you live a little. You clearly like Potter or something. And from what you've said, it sounds like he fancies you. If you don't know what your feelings are, just shag him and then see where that leaves you."

"Draco Malfoy! I do not want to shag Harry Potter!" Pansy froze as she realized she had been louder than she'd meant to be. But she had also come to the conclusion that it was exactly what she wanted to do. Dammit Draco. "While we're on the subject of a member of the Golden Trio and who should shag who, why don't you go and shag Granger then? Instead of just pining after her? Don't tell me you've forgotten where your balls are. In case you have, they're right here."

Pansy reached down and gave his crotch a playful squeeze and laughed at his grunt. Draco glared at her, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Fuck you, Pansy. And I just may go find Granger, because I do have the balls. Unlike you, who has the pussy."

Draco stalked away from her, his shoulders tight underneath the tailored suit jacket. Great, Pansy had just pissed off her only means of distraction. She shouldn't have brought Granger into it.

"Ginny and I aren't together anymore."

Pansy screamed, jumping on the spot and turning around to find Harry standing behind her, two fresh glasses of amber Firewhiskey in his hand. "Potter! Don't do that!"

Harry held out a glass to her and she took it, taking a large gulp. Pansy's heart was still racing and she hadn't yet processed what Harry had said. Her hands were shaking as she took another sip. "Did you hear what I said?" he asked.

"What?" She asked, wiping her hand over her top lip, careful to avoid her lipstick.

"I said that Ginny and I are no longer dating. Did you not see the _Prophet_ article last week? It was front page." Harry took a sip of his own drink and she noticed, just under the tip of his long hair, that tips of his ears were red, showing just how much he'd already had to drink. Though he was far from drunk.

Pansy took a slow breath in, rolling the glass back and forth between her palms. "No, I actually haven't seen that article. I was out of the country last week. I also don't subscribe to that trash."

Harry nodded once and fell silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet, "I haven't stopped thinking about this afternoon all day." Those green eyes glanced up at her and there was a timidity in his gaze. One that brought goosebumps along her skin.

Pansy bit back the snarky comment she would have made had she been talking to anyone else. But she'd decided to take Draco's advice. "It was a rather unsettling occurrence for me, as well. It's set me on edge all evening. Though the alcohol is admittedly helping calm my nerves." Pansy said, taking another sip. The alcohol was indeed taking its effect already. She had grown accustomed to the muted effects of Muggle alcohol, having been spending most of her time around Muggles.

It was making her rather loose-lipped and she wasn't sure where it would lead her. Pansy let her eyes wander around the room and caught Draco indeed talking to the object of his fancy.

Harry must have followed her gaze because his voice was right next to her ear, causing her to shiver. "I think it's about time those two had a chat. They've been dancing around each other for months at work." She felt his breath ruffling her loosely hanging hair and she could swear she felt his lips brush along her exposed neck. Pansy swallowed thickly and found herself leaning back just slightly into Harry. She felt him step in closer, his chest pressed gently against her back. His deep voice rumbled against her. "You want to get out of here?"

"Don't you have a speech to give?" Pansy said breathlessly. She could hear it and so could Harry.

She watched as Harry lifted his wand in front of him, conjuring his stag Patronus and speaking directly to it. "Please inform the Minister of Magic that I have fallen ill and have gone home."

The stag galloped off in search of the Minister and Harry grabbed her hand, leading her away from the crowd. "We can use the Floo in my office."

Harry led her expertly through the darkened halls of the Ministry, taking the lifts when necessary. When they arrived in his office, he shut and warded the door behind them, smiling at her. "Where would you like to go? This Floo has access to just about anywhere."

"How about we just go to my place? There's no one there to disturb us." Pansy gave him a seductive grin and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. When she stepped into the grate, she called out her direct address and winked at Harry before throwing the powder down and disappearing.

Pansy stepped out of the grate, moved to the chaise lounge and sat down, summoning the Firewhiskey from the shelf, along with two glasses, She already had them poured when Harry arrived.

XxX

Harry stumbled free of the fireplace and dusted the ashes from his robes. His eyes rose to see Pansy draped across a velvet chaise lounge, looking seductive without even truly trying. She was holding a glass of Firewhiskey up toward him and he stepped forward to take it. Her eyes were hooded. The hazel color had darkened considerably from when they'd left the gala. "So we have no one here to disturb us, huh?"

Pansy took a sip of her drink and shook her head. The yew wand she pulled from just under the top of her cropped dress flared at the tip and Harry heard the Floo shutting off. Another flick of the wand likely had the wards shutting out any admittance. "Just you and I, Harry," she purred quietly.

He made a low sound deep in his throat at the thought of being completely alone with Pansy. There was something about that meeting earlier that had him pulled toward her. Harry leaned in now, his arm draping across the back of the lounge, fingers dusting her shoulder. "What kind of trouble am I getting myself into, hmm?"

Pansy looked at him through her lashes as she leaned in, taking a big drink of her Firewhiskey, the heat from the drink had her chest red. "I'm sure you're about to find out." She licked her lips and Harry's eyes dropped to the action. He swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly dry.

Of its own volition his hand darted out and slid around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. "You're damn right I am." Harry brought his lips down on hers roughly, the drink in his free hand completely forgotten. Pansy whimpered into his mouth as her free hand squeezed his thigh.

She pulled back first, taking a deep, unsteady breath and giving him a feral smile. "That was certainly trouble, Potter." Pansy brought the glass to her lips, downed the rest of the firewhiskey and Harry did the same. When both the tumblers were empty, she grabbed them and stood, putting them on a table and walked to the door. "You coming or not?" she asked and stepped into the dark hallway.

Harry scrambled to his feet to follow after her. When he turned right out of the doorway, he stepped on something soft. He bent down to pick it up and looked at the fabric in his hand. He held it up, the light from the parlor showed that it was the top to her dress. Harry glanced away into the darkness, he could see her silhouette and could see her dropping something else. He hurried after her, shedding his coat and working on unbuttoning his shirt.

Harry stepped over her bra where she had dropped it and rounded the corner, finding her gone. There was an open door at the end of the hallway, light spilling out. He stopped in the doorway and looked at Pansy. She was standing with her back with to him, her skirt still on, her head turned and she looked back at him. Harry dropped his shirt to the ground, leaving him in his trousers. "That's a great view." She drawled, turning to face him as she drew down a zip on the side of the skirt and let it fall.

Harry gulped at the sight before him. Pansy was a gorgeous witch. Her breasts were full and perky, perfect. She didn't need a bra at all. His eyes trailed lower, following the curves of her body to her hips where the low slung cheeky boyshorts fell on her hips. They were lacy and white, standing out against her tanned skin.

The front of his trousers was getting tight and the smirk from Pansy showed that she knew the effect she had on him. "You're fucking beautiful, Pansy."

"I know. I can tell." She gave a nod in the direction of his crotch and stepped free of the fabric pooled at her feet. She was still in those tall heels and Harry loved the way they made her feet look. Ginny never wore anything so daring.

They were the same color as her dress, a deeper maroon than the traditional Gryffindor colors and lacy, just like the dress. The tips of her toes peeked out of the top and the height of the heel made her foot arch in an erotic way. Harry had never been attracted to feet before, but if more women wore heels like that, he may just end up with a foot fetish.

Pansy stopped before him in the doorway and her hands ran down his chest and abdomen. "Never thought Aurors would be in such good shape." Her fingers found the button on the black Muggle jeans he had chosen to wear and unbuttoned them. Next to go was the zipper, the sound loud in the room.

"I still play Quidditch with Ron and the Weasleys on the weekends." Harry's hands had lifted, running along Pansy's bare sides, his thumbs brushing under the curve of her breasts.

Pansy started to tug his jeans down his hips, crouching to the floor, her heels slipping out of the shoes as she balanced on her toes. She looked back up at him, a twinkle in her eyes as she took in his proud erection. She had taken his pants down along with his jeans. "Quidditch players always did have the best bodies." Pansy licked her lips as her fingers wrapped around his cock and Harry smirked at her.

"Like what you see?" he asked, his voice turning gravelly. In lieu of answering, she leaned in and ran her tongue around his tip and Harry let out an involuntary groan. His hands lifted to grip the door frame as his head dropped, his eyes locked on what Pansy was doing. Her eyes locked onto his as she ran her tongue around his blunt head once more before folding his erection up against his stomach and flattening her tongue to trail it along the thick vein on the bottom of his shaft. "Fucking hell. I'd say you more than like what you see."

A smirk was thrown his way before she took him into her mouth, her thumb and forefinger wrapped around his base, her lips slowly sliding down to meet them. Harry watched in amazement and awe. This was not something Ginny had enjoyed doing, so she would only oblige him when he asked. To have Pansy willingly suck his cock had him ready to blow, and that was before she began sucking her way back up his thick shaft.

At that sensation, Harry's hands dropped from the wood he'd been gripping into Pansy's hair. He felt the pins that were holding the tresses up and pulled them free carefully, tossing them to the floor. He wound his fingers into her hair and wrapped the strands around them, creating a firm grip as he began to thrust into her mouth.

Pansy moaned around his length and Harry's eyes fell shut, a groan leaving his own lips as the sound she made vibrated down his cock, sparking a shock of pleasure in his balls. Her free hand had drifted up from her thigh to fondle his balls and he knew he'd have to pull away soon, or else this would all be over too soon.

When Pansy tightened her grip on his balls, Harry had to pull out of her mouth, a sheen of sweat covering his whole body as he bent over to kiss her. His hands wrapped around her upper arms and he pulled her to a standing position. Pansy went to free her feet of the heels and Harry shook his head with a devious smirk, "Leave them on."

"Someone is being a kinky bastard." Pansy grinned back at him, he kicked off his shoes, stepping free of the pile of his clothes and began walking her backward toward the large bed.

When they got close enough, he spun her around and drew his hand back, swinging it forward with a soft smack to her pert arse. "You have any idea how fucking sexy those things make your legs look?" Harry ran his hand up her spine, pressing between her shoulders, causing her to bend over and brace her hands on the mattress.

Pansy looked over her shoulder at Harry, a smirk on her face, hips swaying in the air. Harry's eyes immediately went to her arse, his handprint a visible red mark on her flesh. "That's the point, Harry. Admiring your handiwork? How about you make the other side match?"

Her voice was all challenge and Harry took it, standing to the side of her, rubbing his hand over her bum before pulling back and placing a smack across her unmarked cheek. He glanced up at her, she was still looking over her shoulder, but she was now biting her bottom lip and a low moan had left her throat.

Harry smoothed his hands over the reddened flesh, leaning in to kiss the marks he had left, his fingers hooking into the white lace, pulling it down over the plump flesh. He couldn't help but lick his lips as his mouth began to water as her cunt was revealed. From this angle, she looked to be completely bare and it caused a shudder to run through his body.

He dropped to his knees and helped her step free of the fabric. Harry trailed his fingers up the back of her legs, his lips following. When he got to the juncture of her thighs, he stopped to inhale the scent of her arousal before placing a kiss on her lower lips. Harry dipped his tongue between her slit, immediately finding her swollen clit.

Pansy let out a moan, her back arching above him, pushing her hips closer to his face. Harry's hands gripped her arse and pulled her cheeks apart, swirling his tongue around her entrance before trailing back to that sensitive bundle of nerves.

Harry could feel the muscles of her legs quaking as she reveled in the pleasure, her heels popping out of the shoes once again as she lifted up onto her toes. He pulled back and quickly flipped her over onto her back with a smirk. Harry dove up and kissed Pansy hungrily, his tongue darting into her mouth, allowing her to taste herself on him.

His lips left hers, trailing down her jaw and then her body. Harry paused briefly at her chest to swirl his tongue around her nipples, then continued on his way back to where he had been. From this angle, he could see that Pansy was indeed completely bare. Godric, that was so fucking hot.

XxX

Harry was kissing along her hip bones on his way back down her body and Pansy was on the verge of losing her mind. She rested her legs on his shoulders as he finally dipped his tongue back between her folds where she desperately wanted him. "Yes, Harry!"

Pansy's hands shot down and carded through his black hair, fisting the unruly strands and holding on tight. She watched as he flicked his tongue off of her clit and free of her folds. When Harry slipped two fingers inside of her slick cunt, she couldn't hold her eyes open. Her head fell back onto the mattress and she moaned so loud that it echoed in the hallway through the still open door.

She was quickly nearing the edge, her hands holding tight to Harry's hair, nails digging into his scalp as his fingers worked in and out of her core, curling at just the right spot to hit that sensitive bundle of nerves. When his teeth tugged her clit away from her body, her torso arched from the bed and she screamed to the ceiling. "Harry!"

Pansy felt her pussy clench around his fingers as he continued to work her, his tongue moving down below his fingers, lapping up her release. She tried opening her eyes to watch him, but all she saw were stars.

When her body finally relaxed and she lay in the bed like a pile of jelly, Harry moved up her body, grinning down at her with a pompous smirk. She rolled her eyes at him and flopped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. Pansy could taste herself on him and that, mixed with his natural taste, was almost as intoxicating as Firewhiskey.

"I think I rather like you screaming my name." Harry smirked when he pulled back, moving to hover over her.

Pansy lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist, raising her hips to brush her hot core along his ready and waiting cock. "And I think I'd rather like your cock buried inside my pussy now." She slid a hand between them and gripped the base of his erection, teasing the tip through her slick folds. His sharp intake of breath had her smirking as she aligned him with her entrance. "Any time now, Potter. You're not getting any younger, you know."

Harry laughed out loud and dipped his hips, thrusting forward in a swift motion, burying himself to the hilt. That shut Pansy and her sharp remarks up, her nails digging into his back. "Fuck." She heard him murmur and she let out a breathy laugh. It was quickly cut off by Harry's lips on hers as his hips began to move in earnest. "So tight, Pansy. Shit."

"Fuck, yes. Right there, Harry." Pansy tightened her legs around his waist and tilted her hips higher. Harry met her lips with his and her tongue darted out to circle around his as she met his thrusts. Their skin slid together, slick with sweat.

She pulled back and Harry sat up, one hand coming up to push his glasses up before sliding his arms behind her knees and pushing them toward her chest. The angle changed once again and with every forward thrust, the tip of Harry's cock hit her g-spot. "Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Yes! Harder." Pansy cried as her body began to climb once again.

Harry obliged her request and slammed into her core harder. Her hands gripped his biceps, painted nails leaving marks in the skin. She felt her walls fluttering and her head was thrashing on the mattress. Incoherent words had begun leaving her lips and as her orgasm washed over her, they continued, ending in Harry's name being shouted once again.

Pansy held on tightly as Harry brought his body flush against hers, his thrusts becoming erratic. She ran her lips along his neck, sucking at the skin there. Her arms draped around his shoulders again, keeping him close. With a final thrust, he buried himself deep and she felt him shudder, a grunt buried in her neck as she felt his cock jerk inside her core as his seed spilled into her.

They lay that way for a few minutes, bodies still connected as he softened inside of her. Once their bodies calmed, he rolled to the side, collapsing on the bed next to Pansy and turned his head to grin at her. "I definitely like you screaming my name."

"You better get ready then, you'll likely hear it all night." Pansy smirked as she rolled over and draped her torso across his chest, resting her chin on her hands. He had a satisfied smile on his face and a flush still on his skin. She had never just had the chance to admire him before and she was surprised by the attractive man he had grown into. He'd updated his glasses and the style fit him much better.

His eyes were closed at the moment, but his smile turned into a smirk as he replied, "Oh, I'll be glad to, but first, we should nap. It's been a long day."

Pansy was on board with that plan. She normally wasn't the cuddling type - being wrapped in someone's arms made her feel suffocated and trapped - but with Harry, she found she didn't mind being that close. It didn't take her long to drift off to sleep, a grin on her face as she started dreaming about what would transpire when she woke. Too bad those dreams wouldn't come true. Her life was about to change forever, all because of this little tryst and a mistake on both her and Harry's parts.


	2. Two Weeks Late

**A/N: Hello Trysties, Turnies? Turners? Nope, I think I like Trysties. So, I am leaving out for Galveston in a few hours to go on my cruise. Though our itinerary has changed due to Irma. I was originally supposed to sail to the Bahamas, but as now all those precious people in the Leeward Islands, both the US and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the DR, Haiti, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, The Bahamas, and in our home turf of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and any other states that may be affected, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. Carnival has now diverted our cruise to Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel.**

 **Now, I wanted to post this before I left and as today is going to be busy doing last minute errands, now is the best time. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, I hope to be getting back to updating my other stories regularly after my cruise. Please let me know what you think of the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters or storyline. This is not my world, I just like to play in it.**

 **XoXo,**

 **Elle.**

Chapter 1

Two Weeks Late. Pansy was two weeks late and it was all Harry fucking Potter's fault. Okay, she had some of the blame to take. She could have cast the contraceptive charm just as easily.

No. She wasn't pregnant. She refused to believe it. At least, not until she had a charm cast to confirm her suspicions.

But if she were honest with herself, she was oddly accepting of the idea that she was having a baby. The large mansion was lonely living here by herself and the elves stayed in the shadows. What Pansy was livid about was the fact that when she woke up, expecting to have round two with Potter, she'd found not only her bed empty, but the entire damn mansion.

Harry had left a note scrawled on a spare bit of parchment by the Floo. Apparently he'd been called away on an emergency assignment. He'd said he'd owl soon. But that had been three weeks ago and Pansy still hadn't heard from him.

"Pans?" Draco's voice echoed through the foyer and caused Pansy to jump, bringing her back to the present.

"I'm in the study, Draco." Pansy called back, leaning her head in her hands once again. She was inhaling slowly through her nose, releasing the breath in a steady stream through pursed lips, willing the nausea to pass. Morning sickness, her brain was telling her. "Shut up."

"You got imaginary friends now?" Draco drawled as he entered the room. Pansy looked up at him and saw his smirk fade. "You look green, Pans. What's wrong?"

Pansy continued with her slow, measured breathing, her eyes dropping from his. The grey was too penetrating, too knowing, too protective. It was too hard to look him in the eye with what she was about to say. "I think I'm pregnant, Draco."

As she had expected, there was total silence in the room. She couldn't even find it in herself to look up at her best friend. Draco and Harry were on friendly terms now, but Draco was so protective of Pansy that she didn't know what he would be capable of. When he finally spoke, there was barely concealed venom in his voice. "Potter."

"Just do the charm first. I couldn't bring myself to do it." Pansy said, leaning back in the desk chair, giving Draco full access to her stomach. Draco stepped forward and muttered the incantation. They both watched as the puff of white smoke rose into the air. It was too early to tell what the baby would be. "Fuck."

"I'm gonna fucking kill him." Draco seethed.

Pansy sighed, "He isn't the only one at fault here. Anyway, you may as well get in line behind me. Because when I find him, I'm going to kill him first. I am the one who leaves people waking up alone." The venom returned to Pansy's own voice as she spoke.

Her eyes finally flickered up to meet Draco's and she saw his normally pale face go even whiter. "What?" She asked curtly.

"No one has heard from him since he went on that emergency undercover mission for Kingsley. The Minister is mum on the whole operation and only told Hermione that Harry is in America because she threatened to hex him into oblivion. I was in the office when she did and I could tell Kingsley was worried. I think Potter was supposed to have checked in by now." Draco had ran a hand through his hair, and it was now sticking out, much like Harry's always did. Pansy couldn't help but soak in this information.

It didn't do anything to help the hurt she still felt at being left that way. He could have woken her to let her know. Not left some note. Pansy's hand dropped to her stomach and she leveled her stare at Draco. "You will not tell anyone who the father of my child is, Draco Malfoy. You got that? Or you will never be able to have children yourself."

Draco held his hands up in surrender and nodded at her. "Whatever you say, Pansy. I'll take it to my grave. I swear to Salazar. But you know that the truth will come out eventually. Whether I let it slip, or some other way. You can't be mad at Harry for doing his job."

Pansy glared at her best friend. "I can and I will. You just best keep your trap shut."

 **February 10, 2002**

"THAT RAT BASTARD! IF HE EVER COMES BACK FROM THAT SUPER SECRET MISSION, I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM!" Pansy screamed into the birthing room. Her hair was plastered to her skull with sweat and she was bent over her protruding stomach.

Draco was beside her, dabbing at her forehead with a cool damp cloth. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Pans, if you want your own secret to be kept, you may want to not shout about super secret missions."

Pansy turned her head and growled at her best friend and the godfather of her daughter. "Don't you dare tell me what to fucking do, Draco Malfoy. I am the one giving birth here, not you." A groan left her lips as she felt another contraction gearing up. Draco slid his arm behind her shoulders as she grabbed behind her knees.

"Okay, Miss Parkinson. Another push in three, two, and one." The Healer between her legs spoke calmly as she focused her eyes back down. Pansy locked her jaw and grit her teeth as she began to push, a junior Healer on her left chanting a ten count in her ear.

Nearing the end of the count, Pansy let out a whine and collapsed back against the pillows. She was panting heavily, her whole body aching. The pain potions had worn off just as she'd started to push and she had chosen to go without. Now she was regretting that choice, but it would be worth it end the end. "Right?" She looked up as Draco as he dabbed the sweat from her brow.

"What's that, Pans?" he asked, leaning down to kiss her temple.

"This will all be worth it, right?" she asked, her voice suddenly small.

Draco gave her a smile, brushing her sweat soaked hair back from her eyes. "She will most definitely be worth it, Pansy."

Pansy sat up feeling another contraction coming, her eyes connecting with Healer Merricoat. "I can just see the top of her head, a head full of dark hair. A few more pushes and you will officially be a mum, Pansy. You're doing great." Her blue eyes trailed to the monitor. "Okay, push in three, two, one."

XxX

An hour later, Pansy lay back in the bed, completely exhausted and sore as they laid her newborn daughter on her chest. The loud cries coming from the small mouth ceased instantly when their bare skin touched and Pansy's vision clouded with tears. "She's perfect. Absolutely perfect."

Draco had sat down on the bed next to them, leaning back next to Pansy so that he could see his goddaughter as well and Pansy heard the smile in his voice. "That she is, except for one thing. She needs a name." His hand came up to brush along the infant's unruly, near black hair. "A name that will fit her."

Pansy's eyes had yet to leave her daughter's beautiful face. She brought a finger up to stroke the soft cheek. "I don't want to name her after a flower, though it would represent both myself and her grandmother. But I will stick in the plant family and name her after my favorite tree, Willow. They are strong and tenacious, just as I know she will-"

At that moment, the newly christened Willow opened her eyes, halting Pansy's voice in its tracks as a pair of crystal clear, emerald green eyes blinked up at her. She had inherited her father's eyes. While mother and daughter stared into one another's eyes, a middle name came to her. "Joy. Willow Joy. Because she is my joy."

"That is a beautiful name, Pans. For a beautiful little girl." Draco kissed Pansy's temple, then placed a kiss on the top of Willow's head as the baby opened her mouth in a yawn and went back to sleep. Pansy shared her daughter's sentiments. Birth was exhausting.

"Draco, she has his eyes," Pansy said, while continuing to stroke her daughter's chubby little cheek. Draco could only see the top of Willow's head because of the way she and Pansy were positioned, so he hadn't seen when she'd opened her eyes. "I won't be able to keep my secret for long. Is there still no word from him?"

Draco shook his head and sighed. "No. It's been silence for nine whole months. Kingsley is distraught, but still won't send anyone after him. Though Hermione has repeatedly gone and pleaded with him to let her go. Or even to let Ron and me go. But he won't budge."

Pansy frowned, resting her head on Draco's shoulder as she watched Willow sleep. "I'm still pissed at him for leaving like he did, but I'm worried about him. What if he isn't alright? What if he doesn't come back? He has to know about her. Eventually." Her head lolled on his shoulder as her exhaustion hit full force. "She can't grow up without her father."

It must be all the stress and excess hormones from the birth that had her tearing up at the thought of her daughter growing up like her father had, never knowing one of her parents. Granted, Harry had been robbed of both of his, but it would still be hard enough.

Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, hugging her tight. The comfort from her best friend only initiated the sobs as she turned her face into his chest to stifle the sound. "Shhhh, Pans. He'll turn up. And if he doesn't by week's end, Hermione has already said that she is going after him."

XxX

 **March 1, 2002**

Harry stared down at the bound body of Rabastan Lestrange. This arrest had been nine months in the making and Harry could have throttled Kingsley for making him take this assignment. Anyone else would have been capable of handling this one, there had been no need to send the head of the department out.

He hated the way he'd had to leave Pansy. Harry had tried to wake her, but she'd been in such a deep sleep that he'd have had to shake the entire house. Instead, he'd just gave her one last kiss and left her the note saying that he would owl her. Little had he known that the assignment was an undercover one. Which meant no correspondence, unless absolutely necessary. Though the Minister was an exception to that rule, Harry had purposely not written. He was that upset with his friend.

Rabastan was one of the few remaining Death Eaters that were still on the run and Harry had chased him all across America, finally catching up to him in South Carolina. Harry knelt next to the unconscious wizard, holding his breath to avoid the stench and gripped his bicep, apparating them to M.A.C.U.S.A. headquarters. He dropped the Death Eater at the feet of several very surprised aurors. "See that he gets to my department immediately, please. He should be unconscious for another hour or so. I would like him transferred before he wakes. Take him directly to Hermione Granger. She is Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Auror Division. I'm going to go and fill out all the necessary paperwork now."

The eager Aurors jumped at the opportunity to help Harry Potter. Even in America they had heard all about The Boy Who Lived. Harry stalked to the desk he had been given when he'd arrived and summoned the right forms, dipping his quill into the inkwell.

Harry sat for an hour filling out the seemingly endless lengths of parchment, his mind wandering home to what Pansy may be doing at this very moment. He thought back to about a month ago, when he'd been on a stakeout, watching a shack that Rabastan was rumored to be hiding in. One moment, Harry had been feeling fine, the next he'd felt a welling of emotion hitting him, so that he had fallen from his squatting position onto his bum. He'd rubbed his chest, where the feeling had originated and shook it away, going back to his mission.

He pulled himself from the memory and signed his name on the last form, sending them zooming across the room to the filing wizard. The old wizard looked up at him with a glare, before realizing that it had been Harry who had sent him the files and changed his expression. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. Have a safe journey home."

Home. That word never sounded so good. Harry glanced at the watch on his wrist. It was just half past four in the afternoon at home. Which meant he would have to stop by the Ministry. Harry sighed and rose from the chair, summoning his duffel bag. He slung it over his shoulder as he took off for the Portkey office.

What Harry really wanted to do was travel directly to Pansy's home and apologize profusely for ditching her while she was sleeping. He would be delayed in his wish, but it wouldn't stop him from fulfilling it. He only hoped she would forgive him. "I need an international Portkey to the British Ministry for now, please."

"Right away, Mr. Potter." The young witch said, a blush crossing her cheeks.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Plenty of the witches here in America had tried to catch his attention, but none of them appealed to him. He was stuck on Pansy. The blonde witch in front of him levitated an eyeball from a doll into his palm and tapped it with the tip of her wand.

With a tug behind his navel, he felt himself pulled through time and space. After just a couple of minutes, he felt his feet touch down and he stumbled, but maintained his balance. Portkey was still his least favorite way to travel.

Harry raised his head to look around at the atrium and immediately started to walk toward the lifts. He received quite a few raised brows and he noticed one of Kingsley's personal attendants take off running. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his crazy hair and got into a lift.

He knew he was in trouble when Hermione was waiting on the other side of the golden gate. "Before you jump down my throat, you can blame Kingsley. It was his fucking idea to send me on the undercover mission when he could have sent Davies. Did Lestrange make it here?"

Hermione continued to glare at him, her hair crackling with anger. "Yes. He was processed twenty minutes ago." Harry watched as her nostrils flared, her breathing heavy. He expected her to come unhinged and start smacking at him, the way she had at Ron when he'd returned to them during the war. But she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Don't you ever do that to me again. I was going to come looking for you weeks ago, but Kingsley forbade me, threatened to throw me into Azkaban. Said that it could compromise your whole mission."

Harry wrapped his arms around his best friend and held her tight to his chest. His life had not been the same over the last nine months and not having Hermione around had left him feeling empty. She was the sister he had never had and he her brother. It was why their department was run so smoothly. Their relationship was symbiotic; they were like two halves of a whole person. That is, until Pansy had fallen into his life.

"Harry, my boy! I'm so glad to see you returned safely to us." Kingsley's voice boomed behind them and Harry turned around, his own temper flaring.

"I will NOT get into this with you at the moment, Minister," he spat. "But I will say this. It was wholly unnecessary to send your head of department on that wild goose chase when you could have sent anyone else in the Auror department and their partner. They would have gotten it done in half the time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some amends to make, due to my untimely, unexpected and unneeded departure."

Kingsley looked absolutely gobsmacked as Harry ranted. Harry gave Hermione an apologetic smile and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at home, Mi." Then he walked to his office and went straight for the Floo. He didn't want to barge in unannounced, so he got down on his knees and threw in just a pinch of powder and called out, "Parkinson Manor."

He could see a blurry impression of the parlor he had entered the night of the gala. "Pansy?" Harry called out. He waited a few more minutes and repeated the name.

An elf popped into view, "Moppy help you?"

"Ah, yes? Is Pansy home? May I speak with her?" Harry asked, surprised that she had an elf, though he shouldn't have been. The Parkinsons were part of the Sacred Twenty Eight.

A smile graced the little elf's lips. "Yes, Mister Potter, Moppy go get Mistress now."

The elf disappeared with a pop and Harry could feel his stomach twisting into knots. He prepared himself for the worst. Pansy would likely immediately end the Floo call. If she did, then he would just Floo over before she shut off access.

Harry's ears perked up as he heard her voice faintly. "I'll be right back, Draco. You know where everything is." He swallowed thickly as her footsteps became clearer. Pansy's legs and feet appeared in his line of vision first, before she stooped down and his eyes connected with hers through the flames. It wasn't the same, it wasn't as intense, but it made his heart squeeze in his chest just the same. "Potter."

Great, she was back to calling him Potter and the look in her eyes was cold and distant. "Pansy, hello. I wanted to call first and ask if I could come by to apologize and explain. Please." Harry didn't care if he sounded pathetic or if he was pleading.

Pansy looked away from him, back in the direction she came from and gave a subtle shake of her head at someone, presumably Draco. Her eyes returned to Harry, a determination now visible in them. "Give me fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Pansy. I will see you then." Harry said, relief flooding his system. He ended the call and pulled his head free. That would give him a chance to clean up a little before going to talk to her.

He was thankful his office was equipped with a bathroom and small closet. He opened the closet, retrieving a set of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower.

XxX

Pansy stood and looked at Draco, apprehension in her eyes and tension set in her shoulders. "Would you take Willow to Malfoy Manor with you? Until I am through talking to Harry? I don't want him to know about her just yet."

Draco nodded, carefully bouncing the baby in his arms. Willow's unruly dark hair was sticking up at all angles, as she drank the bottle in her godfather's large hand. "Of course I will, Pans. But you can't hide her existence forever. She's almost a month old and no one but the Healers, your elves and us knows she even exists. That's not right. And what about her growing up without a father?"

"I really don't need that lecture right now, Draco. I need to flesh things out with Harry. I'm still so angry at him for leaving the way he did. I had to go through pregnancy and the birth of our daughter without him. That's not saying we would have been a couple all this time, but he at least would have been included. He put his job over me." Pansy frowned, her eyes dropping to the floor. She hated when her insecurities started to show.

"You know he had no choice in that, Pansy. It was a direct order from the Minister. He couldn't have ignored that order, even if he'd wanted to. And I'm sure he probably did," Draco said, pulling the bottle from Willow's lips, causing her to fuss as he moved her to his shoulder. He began to pat her back, pausing to rub as he looked at Pansy. "Just don't ice him out."

Willow let out a soft burp and Draco smiled, kissing her head. "Good job, Doodlebug. I'll gather some things and close her door. You can pop over when you're done to get her."

Pansy walked over and pulled her baby girl from Draco's arms. She cradled her against her chest, kissing the top of her head and inhaling Willow's unique scent. "Take Moppy with you, please. You be good for Uncle Draco, Willow Joy. Mummy loves you." She reluctantly passed her baby back to Draco and watched as he took her out into the hallway. This was the first time Willow would be away from Pansy for more than a few minutes while she showered and it was hard to think about it. But she and Harry needed to have this conversation.

She wandered around the parlor, making sure there was no baby paraphernalia lying around before Harry arrived. A few minutes later, the fireplace roared, filling the room with a green light and Harry stepped free of the grate.

They stood still, staring at one another and she felt herself being pulled in immediately when their eyes locked. Their daughter had the same uncanny ability and Pansy knew it would get her in trouble in the years to come. "Potter." She spoke first, dropping her eyes and stepping away from him.

"Pansy, I am so sorry for leaving the way I did. I would have nev-"

"You could have woken me. You could have done the whole thing so differently. I would have understood. Instead, you just snuck out leaving a measly note, promising to owl soon. It's been almost a year and I never received an owl. And now you turn up here expecting what? Me to just fall into your arms and forgive you?" Pansy couldn't help herself. Her hormones were still out of whack from breastfeeding Willow. She immediately regretted the flow of the words and wrapped her arms around her torso, feeling the still pudgy skin from where their daughter had grown.

Harry sighed quietly and she looked up to see his head hanging. His fingers pushed his glasses up his nose and then continued on to run through his hair. Willow looked so much like her father. "I did try to wake you. But you were sleeping so soundly that even shaking you violently didn't rouse you. God, I wanted to choke Kingsley for summoning me. He could have sent any of the Aurors in the department. Hell, a team would have gotten the job done in half the time. He didn't have to send me, but I couldn't disobey an order like that, war hero or not. I didn't want to leave you, I was more than ready for rounds two, three and four. Ready to go all night and again in the afternoon after we'd slept a while."

Pansy listened to him, analyzing every word he said, trying to detect any hint of a lie. She'd gotten good at that in the Slytherin dorms, but there were no traces of deception coming from his lips. She closed her eyes and let out a choked sob. "That hurt me, Harry. More than anything. I'm usually the one that does the leaving and I didn't like being on the flip side of the Galleon. And you honestly have no idea what I've been through over the months that you've been gone."

"Then tell me. Help me understand. Hell, hex me if it'll help. I'd honestly do anything." Harry's eyes connected with hers as he took a step forward. Pansy's breath hitched as she took a step back from him. She was scared that if he touched her, she would give in and tell him everything.

Her mouth opened and closed multiple times as she tried to work out what to tell him that was close to the truth. Unconsciously, Pansy wound her arms around her middle, as if protecting the secret that was no longer held there. Though the baggy shirt hid her post-pregnancy stomach, she still felt exposed. "I got...sick and it was hard going through that alone."

The excuse was lame and she could see the skeptical look in Harry's eyes so she hurried to continue. "I had Draco here to help, of course. But for some reason, I wanted you here. That night changed me, in ways that you won't understand."

Harry frowned, watching her mannerisms. "I feel as if there's something hanging here. Some unfinished business."

Pansy let out a dry laugh, turning to look out of the window behind her. That was the understatement of the year. "You and I will always be unfinished business, Harry."

She could see his reflection behind her in the glass. Harry was scratching his head in confusion to her statement. "What are you talking about, Pansy?"

"What attracted you to me?" She avoided his question with one of her own, a curiosity that she'd had since that night.

Harry rocked on his heels at the sudden subject change. "Well, a lot of things, I guess. But I think that most of it stems from who you are. I'm attracted to your rawness. Your unguarded way of living. There's life in that. It's so different from anyone else I've dated - not that it's a long list - and it made me feel alive for the first time since the war. It was something I'd been searching for."

Pansy watched his reflection as he stepped closer to her. This time she didn't move away, but her eyes never left his in the glass.

"When my mission was over, this was the first place I wanted to come. I wanted to have M.A.C.U.S.A. set the Portkey to travel straight here so I could grovel at your feet." His eyes dropped to her feet and Pansy saw his eyes flare at the sight of the heels she had on. "But as it wasn't yet five, I was obligated to stop by the Ministry first, if only to check in with Hermione that my prisoner had made it safely here." He was inches from her now. Pansy could feel his body heat at her back and she wanted so badly to lean into it.

She was just about to give in when there was a pop in the corner of the room. Her head turned to find Willow's elf standing there. "Moppy? Is everything alright?"

Moppy looked back and forth between Harry and Pansy with wide eyes and Pansy sighed softly. "Harry, excuse us for just a moment." She left with the elf and went down the hall and well out of earshot. "Moppy, what's wrong? Is Willow alright?"

"Willow fine, Mistress. Mister Draco called away on busynesses. Him said unavoidable." The last word was drawn out in syllables as Moppy struggled to get it right. "Moppy brought Willow back. She sleep in her room. Moppy stay with her. But Mistress need to know."

Pansy's stomach did a small flip as she prayed to whoever would listen, that her daughter would stay asleep until Harry left. "Thank you, Moppy. I will be in when Harry leaves." Moppy gave her a nod and disappeared with another pop.

She returned to find Harry had assumed her spot at the window, glancing out over the back gardens. "Everything alright?" He asked quietly.

"Oh yes, everything's just fine." Pansy could hear the slight hint of hysteria in her own voice and she saw Harry's brows raise in the glass.

"What are you hiding from me?" A slight demand in his tone.

Pansy became defensive, "I'm not hiding anything from you. And what does it matter? You left, remember?"

"Why won't you believe me? I HAD NO CHOICE!" He yelled at her, it was obvious his frustration at his job and having been used by the Minister had come to a head, because she was making this extra hard on him.

"Lower your voice." She hissed.

"Why should I?" He continued, his voice slightly lower, but still echoing out into the large hallway through the open door.

Pansy's eyes glanced towards the door, apprehension in her eyes. "Because-"

A newborn's wail interrupted the lie she was about to spout.

Harry spun around to face Pansy, his eyes widening at the sound. "Is that a baby?"

"Yes." Pansy answered, moving in front of the door. She considered saying that one of the house elves had had a baby, but she wasn't sure if the lie would stick. She didn't know how much Harry knew about the creatures.

"So when you said you were 'sick'?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as he saw her protective stance in front of the door.

Pansy lifted her chin, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was pregnant. The morning sickness was horrid. The potions did absolutely nothing. But she's perfect." Another wail sounded through the silence and Pansy winced, her legs twitching to go to her daughter.

She heaved a sigh and left the room. Harry's footsteps echoed behind her and she wished that she could hide Willow from him for just a little longer. But once he laid eyes on her, he would know.

"Is the baby mine?" he asked, his voice tinted with hope.

Pansy ignored him as Willow began crying in earnest and she started jogging down the corridor. The door stood ajar and she pushed it open, walking to the crib and scooping her daughter up. "Shhh, my little cherub, Mummy's here. I've got you."

Willow started to calm down almost instantly when she realized who was holding her. The scent of her mother always calmed her down. Pansy leaned down to kiss her daughter's head. She stared into the eyes of her baby girl and watched as the baby made a pained face and smiled. "Someone has some gas trapped in that little belly, huh?"

Pansy placed a cloth on her shoulder and lifted Willow up, smiling as she held her head up. As Pansy worked on getting that gas free, she was well aware of Harry watching her, and she avoided his eyes by turning her back on him. At that moment, Willow held her head up fully and she heard Harry's sharp intake of breath. His voice was barely a whisper, but Pansy heard it. "She has my eyes."

XxX

Harry couldn't believe the sight that was before him. The green eyes staring out of the angelic face before him were identical to his own. Her hair was a brown so dark that it was almost black, and it was sticking up in all directions. She was obviously his, but the eyes definitely confirmed it.

Another pained cry sounded in the room as Pansy bounced the baby and patted her back a little more forcefully. After a few moments, the newborn girl let out a loud belch and quieted down, her head dipping into Pansy's neck and rubbing her nose there.

"She has my eyes, Pansy." Harry repeated and Pansy still refused to meet his eyes. "Were you going to tell me?"

Pansy's hand started rubbing the small back of the little girl in soothing circles. When she finally turned to face Harry there were tears in her eyes. "Yes, Harry, she has your eyes. I was going to tell you when I was ready. It was a lot to process by myself, from finding out I was pregnant, to going through most of the morning sickness alone, to the birth. I hated you, cursed your name, even prayed for your demise once or twice. If it hadn't been for Draco, I would be a complete and utter mess. He was there with me when she was born and he has been here every day since, before and after work. He's her godfather and has been the best father figure in her short life.

"I would have told you the moment I found out. But you weren't here to tell, so I couldn't. I would have included you in the Healer appointments, the birthing classes. You would have been there when she was born, even when her shoulders got stuck and they had to twist her by her little head and use magic to get her out. You would have helped pick out her name. There's so much you would have been involved in, had you just been here." Pansy tucked her nose in the baby's hair and inhaled as if to calm herself.

Harry felt overwhelmed by grief, the pain threatening to drown him at all he had missed. His hand came up to rub at his chest and his eyes landed on a rocking chair in the corner. He was suddenly feeling light-headed and weak in the knees, so he wobbled over and sat down. His throat was dry so he had to swallow thickly before he was able to speak. "What day was she born?"

Pansy swayed on the spot she was standing in, still rubbing the little girl's back. "The tenth of February. At a quarter to midnight."

"The tenth?" Harry looked up at Pansy, shocked.

She nodded, rubbing her nose against the unruly hair on his daughter's small head. "Yes. Why?"

"I think I felt it. I know that may sound crazy. But I was on a stakeout on that day and at that time I felt something, it quite literally knocked me on my arse." Harry furrowed his brow in confusion.

Pansy frowned and then shrugged, "It's been known to happen."

Harry nodded, removing his glasses and rubbing his face. "It was so weird, I felt such joy for a moment. But then I had to shake myself back to attention." He latched his eyes onto the baby. He was desperate to hold the child. His daughter. But he didn't want to upset Pansy. "What is her name?"

"Willow. Willow Joy." Pansy said, changing the baby's position and cradling her in her arms now.

Harry quickly stood up from the chair, looking at Pansy with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

Pansy looked over at him alarmed and curled her baby closer to her breast. "I said her name was Willow Joy."

Tears speared into Harry's eyes as he stepped closer to Pansy and looked down at his snoozing daughter. "How did you know?" He whispered quietly.

"Know what?" Pansy asked, just as softly.

"That Joy was my mother's middle name." He replied simply. Pansy stopped swaying and he could feel her eyes burning into the top of his forehead.

Her voice was shaky when she answered, "I-I didn't. It wasn't long after she was born, Draco asked me what I was going to name her and I had settled on Willow. So he asked me about a middle name. About that time she opened her eyes and the name Joy just jumped out at me."

Harry shook his head, completely speechless. "It has to be fate. With me feeling her birth and you giving her the same middle name as my mother. It has to be. May-" He cleared his throat, hoping the emotion would dissolve. "May I hold her?"

Pansy looked down at the sleeping baby, indecision warring on her face. It was clear that this was hard on her. Harry was about to tell her to forget it, but she took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, you can hold her."

Harry carefully held his arms out in anticipation to accept his daughter's weight for the first time. Pansy gently placed Willow into his arms and stepped back, looking at the two of them. Harry gave Pansy a smile before looking down at the baby in his arms. Willow had opened her eyes and was looking up at him with a wide-eyed curiosity.

He was too shocked when he'd first looked at her, but now when their eyes connected, Harry knew what new parents meant when they said it was love at first sight. He was completely in awe at the little beauty in his arms. Harry had helped create this miracle, even if he hadn't known about her until just now. "Hello little Willow Joy, you have your grandmother's eyes."

Harry watched as one corner of Willow's mouth lifted in a half smile. "Oh do you like hearing that? Pansy, she's smiling. Does she do that often?"

"Not often, but she likes when you say her full name. Or rather Willow Joy." Pansy said, reaching down to brush her hair gently with her fingers. "It makes her the happiest. She smiles when Draco calls her Doodlebug as well. She adores her Uncle Draco already."

Hearing Pansy talking about Willow's name had the wheels turning in Harry's mind. Pansy had moved across the room to put away some of Willow's things. She had fallen silent, the tension visible in her shoulders. Harry looked back down at their daughter. Willow had Pansy's nose, lips and hair color for now, but his eyes, cheeks and unruly hair. Harry was quiet when he spoke next, "What surname did you put on her birth record?"

Pansy halted in the middle of folding a lavender colored baby blanket, her hands trembling. "I actually haven't completed it yet. Draco is going to file it with the Ministry when I do. I would have felt guilty and been a horrible person had I just given her my last name without you even knowing about her. I still don't know what I would have done if you hadn't have come back, if you'd been killed on that super secret mission or whatever. The only people who know that she exists are the two Healers who helped her enter the world, Draco, and me. I paid the healers well and swore Draco to secrecy about the identity of her father. Because I was so mad at you.

"And actually, until today, she hasn't left this mansion. I had Draco take her to Malfoy Manor just before you arrived and I was going to go get her after you left, but Draco had something important come up. Moppy brought her back. She was sleeping, but must have either woken up because of our fight or her tight tummy." Pansy lifted the fluffy blanket to her nose and inhaled slowly. As if Willow's sweet smell gave her strength, she turned to face him and took a deep, steadying breath. "If it would be alright with you, I would like for her to share your last name."

Harry's breath halted in his lungs and his heart started to beat frantically in his chest. He and Ginny had talked about having children one day, but that had been in the far future, after they had been married for several years. Then they'd went their separate ways and the excitement, hope and longing had turned into just longing. For Harry being an orphaned, only child, he wanted to build a family - something that he had never had. He glanced down at the babe lying in his arms, now sleeping yet again, and smiled. "I would love that, Pansy. It would mean the world to me."

Pansy smiled at him and placed the blanket in Willow's crib, walking to a bureau, opening a drawer to pull out a piece of parchment. She walked over and showed it to him. It was Willow's birth record. Harry took it into the hand that wasn't cradling his daughter. His eyes ran over the details that were inked on the paper, reading the weight and length, the exact time and date. The name line was still blank, as were the signature lines for the mother and father. "I figured that when I finally told you, we could fill out the important part together."

A smile spread across Harry's lips, "Thank you, Pansy. I hate that I missed everything else, but this makes me feel included. Could you bring me a quill?"

"You could lay her in her bed for now, you know." Pansy grinned at him as she moved across the room once more and grabbed a self-inking quill. She pulled a large book down from a bookcase and walked back over to Harry.

Harry shook his head. "I'm not quite ready to let her go just yet." He handed the piece of parchment to Pansy and took the quill from her. Pansy was smiling at him as if she understood where he was coming from. She held the parchment where he could write on it and Harry eloquently filled in his daughter's name, his smile growing when he added Potter next to her first and middle names. He then moved the quill down and signed his own name to the parchment before handing the quill back to Pansy. She turned the birth record around and signed it herself. "Pansy?"

Pansy looked up from the completed record, a small smile on her face. "Hmm?"

"I thought about you every day while I was gone." Harry kept his eyes on their sleeping little girl, her tiny lips opened in a little o shape, hands curled up against her chin. Her face was relaxed and she had not a care in the world.

"I understand why you had to go, Harry, I do. But it still hurt. I'm not mad at you anymore and I forgive you, but I'm not sure if I can-" Pansy stopped as if unsure how to continue, while Harry had been looking down at Willow, she had moved across the room.

Harry knew that what he was asking was a lot, but he'd never felt this way about Cho and most definitely not about Ginny. If he was honest with himself, it scared him to feel something so deeply for someone that he'd been enemies by association with throughout their school years. So he knew she had to be scared too.

He walked over to her, securely and carefully cradling Willow in one arm. "You think I haven't noticed that you won't look me in the eyes for more than a few seconds?" Harry reached out with his free hand, his finger hooking Pansy's chin and turning her face toward him. She still refused to meet his eyes, but he held her face still. "Pansy, look at me. Please."

Reluctantly she lifted her eyes to his, obviously forcing her gaze to stay there. Harry held her eyes and after a few seconds he felt that pull that he'd felt in the Leaky. "I know you feel that. We both did the day of the gala in the Leaky, and later that evening at the gala. That's not something I can ignore easily. Especially not now. Our lives are going to be intertwined forever now. I see why you said we'd always be unfinished business. Willow is too important for us to dance around one another."

There were tears brimming in Pansy's eyes as she continued to hold Harry's gaze. Her mouth parted as if she were having trouble breathing and Harry's couldn't help the brief flicker of his gaze down to her lips. His thumb brushed across her lower lip and felt her tongue dart out and touch the pad of the digit. Their eyes had locked again and they were both leaning in. "Harry…" Pansy breathed and she was the one to close the distance between their lips.

Harry was careful to keep Willow from getting crushed between them as she slept and he kissed Pansy deeply, his free hand moving to slide around the back of her head, cradling her head just as carefully as he cradled their daughter.

Pansy was the first to pull back, dropping her head to rest against his chest with a sigh. "Harry, I don't know if I can just give in like that. I may have forgiven you, but I need to establish a foundation of trust with you. We had a one night stand. Granted, it resulted in the best thing that has ever happened to me, but that's all it was. We have never been on friendly terms and while we will have to be for Willow, if we are to try and pursue a relationship, which I could be open to, we're going to have to start at the beginning."

Harry rested his cheek on the top of her head and looked down at the tiny angel in his arm, watching Pansy stroke her arm softly. He could see where Pansy was coming from. It was a great idea, really and he agreed with it fully. "I can accept that. So with that cleared up and agreed upon, can I ask you something?" He kissed the top of her head and pulled back, waiting on her to look up at him. When she did, Harry gave her a heartbreaking smile. "Would you please go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Pansy looked shell-shocked at the date proposal so soon and Harry couldn't help but chuckle a little. But she recovered quickly and began to nod slowly. "Yes, I would be honored."

"Excellent." Harry grinned at her, then looked back down at Willow, pulling her up close and kissing the top of her downy hair, the wild strands tickling his nose. "Did you hear that, Willow Joy? Your mummy agreed to a date with your daddy. I think we'll call that progress."

Harry glanced up to see Pansy rolling her eyes. "Come on, we'll go sit in the parlor. There are more chairs there."

Pansy left the room and Harry followed, his hand coming to rest under Willow's bum, rubbing the nappy-covered rump. Harry was still having trouble believing he was a father now.

They settled into the settee, sitting side by side, so that Pansy could touch Willow whenever she wanted. Harry regaled her with the tale of his mission until they had both fallen asleep, Harry still carefully cradling Willow in his arms.


	3. A Time for Thanks

**A/N: HELLO TRYSTIES! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! Okay, enough of caps, but seriously, I'm back. My cruise was amazing. I didn't get to go to the Bahamas as I had planned because of Hurricane Irma, but they instead sent us to Honduras, Belize and Cozumel. I got to hold two white-fronted capuchin monkeys in Honduras, snorkel the barrier reef in Belize and swim with dolphins in Cozumel. I came back ready to write. And write I have. I finished this chapter that I had already started, as well as the chapter of Soul Bound I had already started and I am now working on a new chapter of Through It All. Over the coming weeks, I am planning on updating each of my WIPs. So just hang in there and keep a weather eye on the horizon.**

 **Please, let me know what you think. If you ever want to get in touch with me, I am on Facebook and Tumblr under ElleMalfoy65. Also, you can PM me on FFN.**

 **Warnings: Lemons at the end of the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: In the chapter, I used the song "Baby Mine" sung by Bette Midler. I own no rights to this song and am making no money from it's use in the story. I also do not own the characters or the parts of the story pertaining to the original Harry Potter series. I only twist it to fit my crazy plunnies.**

 **XoXo,**

 **Elle.**

A Time for Thanks

A grunt and squirming in his arms woke Harry up a couple of hours later and he opened bleary eyes, bringing a hand up to rub the sleep away. He was a little confused at where he was and what was going on. The movement in his arms caused him to look down. His first thought was that Crookshanks had fallen asleep in his arms, but then his eyes landed on a baby. The last few hours came rushing back to him and he looked over at Pansy, who leaned against him, asleep.

"Shh, Willow Joy. Daddy's got you." He brought his hand up and ran his finger along her cheek gently. Willow turned her head and tried to get Harry's finger into her mouth. "Ah, you must be hungry, huh? Hmm, how do we do this without waking your Mummy? Moppy?"

There was a small pop and the elf was standing in front of him with a smile. She was quiet when she spoke. "Yes, Mister Potter?"

Harry smiled at the little elf, letting Willow nurse on his knuckle for the moment. "I believe Willow is hungry. Could you possibly fetch me a bottle for her?"

Moppy frowned, "Mistress feeds Willow from breast. But I see if she has bottle made. Like for Mister Draco." She disapparated from the room and Harry returned his attention to the baby in his arms. A few minutes later, Moppy returned with a warmed bottle and a cloth, handing them over to Harry. "Last one. Will you need anything more?"

Harry shook his head with a smile, "That will be all for now. Thank you, Moppy." The elf disappeared again and Harry was left alone with Willow, who was opening her eyes now, starting to fuss, clearly not pleased with not having her milk and the still sleeping Pansy. He figured it was the least he could do, letting Pansy sleep. She had done this alone from the beginning.

He tilted the warm bottle in his hand, the nipple brushing against Willow's lips and he chuckled at how quickly she opened her mouth. He slipped the bottle into her mouth and watched as she settled down and began to drink, her eyes locked onto his. It was still disorienting to see his own eyes staring back at him from this tiny little face.

"Weird isn't it?" Pansy's quiet voice caused him to jump a little, jostling the bottle in Willow's mouth.

"Merlin, Pansy, you scared me. What's weird?" Harry asked, turning to glance at Pansy, adjusting Willow in his arms and pulling the bottle free to check how much she had drank. He remembered from feeding Teddy when he was a baby that babies needed to burp after every couple of ounces. Harry placed the cloth on his shoulder and moved Willow to his chest and started to pat her back.

Pansy stretched next to him. "Seeing your eyes staring back at you. She has the same effect on me that you do. She can trap me with a single gaze. I can just stare into her eyes for an hour. What time is it?" Her eyes darted up to his for a split second, a slight tinge of pink coloring her cheeks at her honesty, before she looked away.

"Uh," Harry stopped patting Willow's back to glance at his watch. "Just after eight in the evening." He went back to patting the little girl's back, waiting to hear the burp in his ear. When she finally let one out, he chuckled softly and laid her back in his arms, giving the bottle back to her. "I had just been thinking the same thing about her eyes. It's disorienting really and now I understand what everyone else felt like looking into my eyes and seeing my mother's."

They sat in silence for a while, letting Willow eat, Harry burping her every few minutes. Pansy's hand lifted up and stroked along her hair, as she leaned against Harry. "She'll be good to go for while after this. I usually give her a bath after this feeding and lay her down. A full belly and warm bath puts her to sleep until about two in the morning, sometimes three. It's the longest she sleeps. Do you want to help me? Then we could get the elves to fix us some dinner?"

Harry's stomach growled at the mention of food and he heard Pansy laugh next to him. "I'll take that as a yes." He gave her a nod as he lifted Willow back to his shoulder for one final burp. When he felt the air stir by his ear, he smiled and carefully cradled the back of Willow's head as he stood.

"Thank you," he said, looking over at Pansy, who had stood.

She tilted her head, her brow creasing just a little. "For what?"

"For allowing me to help tonight. It means more to me than you could possibly know." Harry turned his head and kissed Willow's hair. A wealth of emotions overwhelming him at the thought of leaving at the end of the evening. He didn't ever want to let go of the baby in his arms, nor the woman across from him. He just hoped that she would give him that chance.

XxX

Pansy could tell just how much it meant to Harry to be included, not just in the bedtime routine, but in Willow's life. It had her heart squeezing a myriad of emotions. She didn't want to pity him, but it was one of the emotions that had surged forward, as well as an overwhelming sadness. He had grown up without his parents and now he was able to be included in his daughter's life. She turned away quickly, so Harry couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes. "Damn hormones," she muttered. "The bathroom is this way."

Harry followed behind her, quietly talking to Willow in his arms. Pansy couldn't make out what he was saying, but it made her smile regardless. She couldn't lie to herself - those couple of hours sleeping next to Harry on the couch had been the best she'd rested in the last nine months. Being a single parent was exhausting. Sure, Draco had been around to help as much as he was able, but that was only on weekends and after Ministry hours. Moppy was a great help, but Pansy wanted to do as much as she could by herself. But the look of determination on Harry's face the moment he'd seen Willow and realized she was his had said it all. She wouldn't have to do this alone.

She walked into Willow's room, the lilac colored walls calming her instantly. That was why she had chosen the color before Willow was born. Draco had painted the room himself and she had been so grateful. Pansy opened the door into the en suite bathroom, the marble opulence accenting the room beyond. The stone on the counters, the tile on the floors, everything held hints of purple to match the colors of Willow's bedroom. "You undress her and I'll run her water." Pansy grinned back at Harry as he walked over to the changing table Pansy had in the bathroom.

Harry carefully laid Willow out on the padding and she couldn't tear her eyes away from how gentle he was being with their tiny little baby. Mentally shaking herself, she forced herself to turn away and began filling the tub, adding in the calming potions and bubbles that would help Willow relax further and sleep better. She breathed in the perfumes that wafted up into her nose, the combination calming her as well.

Pansy adjusted the infant bath seat she had got at a Muggle baby shop. It was in the shape of a daisy and it held Willow's head out of the water. Harry came over and knelt down next to Pansy, leaning over the side of the tub and placing Willow into her seat. "That is neat. Where did you get it?"

"A Muggle baby shop. It's where I got most of her things, actually." Pansy levitated a wash cloth over and dipped it in the water, smiling as Willow splashed her arms in the water, a smile lighting up her face. "She loves bath time, watch this." Pansy wrung most of the water out before holding the cloth over Willow's face and squeezed out the last few drops. As the warm and fragrant water dropped onto her face, Willow let out a delayed growl that turned into a squeal of excitement, her body tensing up as her eyes opened wide and her mouth worked furiously.

Harry chuckled next to Pansy and held his hand out for the washcloth, she gave it over to him and watched as he carefully did the same, only leaving a little water in the pink cloth. He drizzled the water over Willow's face and she squealed again, kicking her legs. Harry laughed and grabbed the bottle of baby soap, lathering the washcloth. "That has to be the cutest thing I've ever seen. We made a beautiful little girl."

Pansy glanced over at Harry as he started to wash Willow, a smile on his face as he tickled her little ribs. Willow hadn't really laughed out loud yet, but she would cackle silently, with her mouth open. Pansy could only assume she was doing that now. "Yeah, we really did. I am in awe of her every day." Pansy returned her attention to the baby splashing in the tub, dipping her hand into the tub to play with Willow's feet.

"Do I need to wash her hair?" Harry asked, rinsing Willow's tiny chest with the washcloth.

"No, I only do that every other day and I washed it yesterday. You can get her out and dry her off. Her nappies are in the top drawer and I'll go get her pajamas." Pansy snagged one of Willow's towels with the hood on it, she handed it off to Harry with a smile, thinking she could get used to this.

As she went out into Willow's room, she could hear Harry talking to their daughter, but once again, couldn't make out what he was saying, until he raised his voice to speak to her. "You use disposable nappies? I thought most pureblood families still went traditional with cloth nappies?" Pansy laughed and went back into the bathroom, handing over the footed onesie that had little brooms, snitches, bludgers, beaters bats and quaffles all over it. She watched as Harry raised his eyebrow at the choice in pajamas for Willow.

"Draco." Pansy said by way of explanation and grinned at him.

Harry grinned, "I bet you'll be a Seeker, just like your daddy, won't you, Princess?" He lifted her in one arm and laid the pajamas out under her, then laid Willow upon them. He carefully put her arms into the sleeves, then fitted her feet into the footed ends, zipping the front closed. Willow cooed up at him and let out a big yawn, her big green eyes drooping closed.

"It's my cherub's bedtime, isn't that right, little one?" Pansy said, leaning down to kiss her hair. "I usually rock her to sleep, then lay her down. I'll go and tell the house elves to start preparing us something to eat. Anything particular you have in mind?"

Harry's eyes lit up and Pansy swore she could see drool forming at the corners of his mouth. It had been almost a year since he'd eaten food from home. "Lancashire Hotpot? That is my all-time favorite meal and I have been craving it all winter." Harry lifted Willow from the changing table and followed Pansy out of the bathroom.

"I'm sure the elves would be glad to fix that up. Let me see our daughter for a minute, then you can have her back." Harry handed Willow over and Pansy looked down at their drowsy little girl. It was hard to believe that next week she would be a month old. She was growing so fast already. Pansy gave Willow a kiss to her forehead and whispered quietly, "Sleep well, my cherub. Mummy loves you."

Pansy handed her back to Harry and made the mistake of looking up into his eyes for longer than a few seconds. They were instantly drawn closer to each other, their foreheads touching, noses brushing, breaths mingling. They stood there for several minutes, before another yawn and a stretch from Willow broke the moment. Pansy pulled back and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine as she inhaled a shaky breath. "I'll just go and let Glink know what to prepare."

She forced herself not to run from the room as Harry took a seat in the rocker. Pansy leaned against the wall just outside the door and blew out a long, slow breath. "Shit." She muttered to herself. Just as she was about to push off and head toward the kitchen, she heard a melodious sound coming from Willow's room. Harry was humming quietly.

"Glink?" Pansy whispered, the elf appeared with a quiet pop and looked up at his mistress. On a particularly violent night, her father had severed Glink's vocal cords and forbid him to repair them. The elf bowed before her in his quiet way and Pansy smiled down at him. "Would you please prepare a Lancashire Hotpot? As well as a treacle tart?" The elf gave a soft nod of his head and disappeared with another pop.

Pansy moved closer to the door and rested her back against the wall again, just as Harry started to sing a quiet lullaby.

"Baby mine, don't you cry.

Baby mine, dry your eyes.

Rest your head, close to my heart,

Never to part, baby of mine.

Little one, when you play,

Pay no heed, what they say.

Let your eyes sparkle and shine,

Never a tear, baby of mine.

If they knew all about you,

They'd end up loving you too.

All those same people who scold you,

What they'd give just for the right to hold you.

From your head down to your toes,

You're not much, goodness knows.

But, you're so precious to me,

Sweet as can be, baby of mine."

Tears flooded Pansy's eyes and she pulled her knees to her chest. While Harry had been singing, she had slid down the wall, her heart swelling. She was in so much trouble. Pansy stood up, wiping her eyes and dusted her arse off before walking into the room. She leaned against the doorframe and watched as Harry laid Willow in her bed and covered her in the small blanket.

When he turned around and saw Pansy there, he smiled at her, "Hey. It didn't take her long to go to sleep." His voice was quiet and he walked over to Pansy, leaning against the wall next to her, their eyes falling on the sleeping beauty in her bed.

"It never does. The calming potions, warm water and a full stomach never fail to knock her out like a light. Glick should have dinner ready soon. We can head to the dining room. I'm sure they've already set out the wine." Pansy walked over and checked on the baby sleeping in the crib, adjusting the blanket just a bit. She waved her wand to dim the lights in the room and walked over to Harry with a smile. He left the room before her and she pulled the door, leaving it halfway ajar. She cast the monitoring charms behind her as the dining room was farther away than she usually was and she didn't like to be out of earshot.

Harry proffered his arm and Pansy's breath hitched in her throat. After a moment's hesitation, she slid her hand into the crook of his arm and they walked through the twisting maze of hallways to the dining room. "How did you get so good at being a mum? You didn't expect to be a mum and yet you're so amazing at it. How does that happen?"

Pansy laughed, she had asked herself the same questions on multiple occasions. "I guess I had nine months to get used to the idea. But I can tell you, I was a right bitch to Draco through most of it, because I was scared out of my mind. Once she was born, the terror didn't fade. Hell, almost a month into it and I'm still surprised that I haven't dropped her on her head a number of times. But I can tell you're going to be a great father, already."

Wide green eyes looked down at her, "You think so? I guess I did have a little practice with Teddy. Not much, but a little. You're an amazing mum, Pansy, truly."

They had arrived at the dining room and walked over to the table. Harry pulled out her chair for her. Pansy smiled up at him, "Thank you. For your kind words, as well as your kind gestures." She waited for Harry to take his seat and lifted her glass of wine as he did the same. "To Willow and our lives changing irrevocably, for the better. Also, to moving forward into our future, whatever that may be."

Harry smiled at her and she felt her stomach lurch, butterflies taking flight. "To our family." Their glasses clinked together and they each took a sip.

Pansy found herself wishing that Glink would take an extra long time on their meal, so that Harry wouldn't leave. But she knew that his friends must be missing him. He had said that this was the first place he'd come after he'd left the Ministry. "I imagine that your friends will be happy to see you." Pansy remarked as she noticed Glink levitating a tray out with the hotpot on it.

"Yeah, I suppose they will. Hermione was a little peeved at me as well, for not having any contact with her. Not just because she is Deputy Head of my department, but because we're each other's family. She's the sister, the family, I never had. Speaking of that—" Harry paused as Glink lowered the dish in front of them.

"Thank you, Glink. We will serve ourselves. You may have the rest of the night off. Stop by in the kitchen and tell Peffer and Hilny they will be on clean up." The mute elf bowed, disappearing with a pop. "Please, help yourself, Harry, and continue."

Harry leaned forward to grab the serving spoon, cutting through the crisp potatoes on top of the meal he had requested. He carefully held the spoonful up and motioned for her plate and looked over at Pansy. "I know that you named Draco as Willow's godfather. But have you named anyone godmother?"

Pansy shook her head as she placed her plate back onto the table, "No, I haven't. I wanted to allow you the choice. I chose Draco, because I don't really have any female friends anymore. Salazar, I sound pathetic and I just realized how much you were robbed of these past nine months."

The look of anger that passed over Harry's features didn't suit him. "What Kingsley did, that was beyond abuse of power. What he should have done was pass the information to me, so I could have handled the threat accordingly. It honestly almost had me wanting to step down and that was before I found out about Willow. Now I just want to downright quit." Harry took off his glasses off and began rubbing his eyes. "I mean, just think of where we might have been if he hadn't used his position. I'd have been here for the pregnancy, finding out we were having a girl, and I would have been right by your side when she entered this world. When she'd taken her first breath, heard her first cry, all the things a father is supposed to witness."

Pansy quickly slid her hand across the table and grabbed Harry's, giving it a squeeze. "I know. It was all incredibly unfair. And while I hated you for not being here, I wish that you had been able to witness it all. But there are so many more firsts to come. Now, please eat. You have to be famished."

Before she could pull her hand away, Harry pulled it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. The butterflies in her stomach took flight once more and she found herself wishing once again that he didn't have to leave at the end of the night. "And I'd like to name Hermione as Willow's godmother." Harry responded before digging in. Pansy smiled, thinking that was pretty apt, and found herself hoping that things progressed between her best friend and Harry's.

XxX

Harry released Pansy's hand and tucked into his favorite meal, releasing a groan at the explosion of flavors in his mouth. The heartiness of the lamb, the distinct flavor of the lamb kidney and the various vegetables had his eyes closed. The potatoes on top were just the right amount of crisp and he could have sworn he was in heaven. "You will have to pass my compliments on to Glick. This is excellent."

Pansy gave him a smile and Harry quickly reminded himself that while this hotpot tasted like heaven, he'd actually been _inside_ heaven and she was sitting to his left. They passed most of the meal in silence, two different elves appearing to clear away the dirtied dishes and bringing in smaller, clean plates for dessert. When his eyes landed on the treacle tart, they lit up. "This is my favorite, too."

"I know." Pansy replied, blushing a little as her hair fell into her face and she helped herself to the dessert.

"How did you know that?" Harry asked, clearly surprised that she knew this piece of information about him.

Pansy shrugged, the blush deepening, "I used to watch you at meal times and whenever we had treacle tart, it was the first thing you dove for. Even before you had your dinner."

Harry's chest swelled at the knowledge that she had watched him while they had been at Hogwarts. Though it had probably been a means of keeping your enemies closer, so to speak. It still gave him a thrill. "I suppose it was for intel? Learn your enemy's habits?"

She shoved her mouth full of treacle tart, her face practically on fire as red as it was. Harry could tell that she was avoiding answering. But he had a feeling that he had been wrong in his assumption. When she swallowed the bite in her mouth, Pansy took a drink of wine, before staring at what was left, swirling the contents lightly. "Yes and no. As a Slytherin, we're always looking out for ourselves. But I guess, even back then, I had the hots for the famous Harry Potter."

"And what about now? Do you still have the hots for me?" Harry asked, finishing off his dessert, his eyes leveling on Pansy, watching how uncomfortable and embarrassed she was at having to answer. But he wouldn't let her suffer. He rose from his chair and moved around the back of her chair, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry. I know you still do." His lips found the hollow just behind her ear and Pansy shuddered.

Harry saw her hands grip the edge of the table, as a heavy breath was expelled from her lungs. His name was a breathy whisper on her lips. "Harry…" He put his hands on her shoulders and began to rub gently, his lips moving down the side of Pansy's neck slowly, sucking and nipping at her skin. A quiet moan left her lips, one hand releasing the table and lifting to card her fingers through Harry's hair. "I can't. Not for two more weeks, the healers said."

"No sex, got it. But that doesn't mean that I can't indulge in more dessert." Harry's lips found her earlobe and nibbled on it as he let Pansy digest just what he'd said. His hands slid from her shoulder to her breasts, gripping them gently. Harry pulled back from her neck to look at the side of her face. "Mmm, they've gotten bigger." His thumbs swiped over her nipples through the light bra she had on and he heard the muffled moan through her bit lip.

Pansy tugged at his hair and turned her head to kiss Harry heatedly, her lips moving against his. "It's from feeding Willow."

"I like it." Harry growled against her lips and moved around the chair, pulling Pansy to stand as he ravished her lips, his tongue seeking entrance. Pansy complied, opening her lips and Harry dove in eagerly.

He swallowed the moan she let out and felt Pansy's hands grip the sides of his shirt. Harry put his hands under the hem of her shirt, lifting it up her body, but Pansy stopped him before he got very far. Her eyes were guarded and her face was drawn. "I don't look the same as before."

Harry raised a brow, his eyes curious behind his glasses. "Did you suddenly grow an extra appendage?" She shook her head, her black hair falling into her face. Harry tucked it behind her ear and smiled at her. "Okay then. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You grew a life inside of your body. There were bound to be some changes to it." His lips found hers once more and she gave in once again.

This time when Harry attempted to divest her of the baggy shirt she had on, Pansy let him. He let his eyes roam over her body once and then green found hazel before he kissed her again. "You're just as beautiful as before. If not more so."

A rare blush bloomed on Pansy's cheeks and Harry drank in the sight of it. He leaned in and moved his lips across her bare chest, his fingers playing with the elastic waistband of the lycra leggings she had on, gently working them down Pansy's hips. Harry bent lower, running his nose around a pert nipple, hard from the cool air in the dining room. He blew a warm breath over it and watched as Pansy's skin pebbled in goosebumps, a low moan leaving her lips.

Harry took advantage of her pleasure to run his hot tongue around the hard peak, his hands tugging the leggings and knickers down Pansy's thighs. As soon as they were clear of her arse, Pansy sat down hard on the edge of the table, her eyes hooded as she looked down at Harry, biting her supple bottom lip. He repeated the gentle breath of warm air and circle of his tongue on the opposite nipple, all to the reward of an extremely feral moan from Pansy.

A glance down at her hands showed them gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles white. When Harry glanced up at her, a questioning look on his face, she explained, "My nipples are extra sensitive right now."

"From breastfeeding Willow?" Harry asked, earning a nod from Pansy. He stepped between her thighs and pressed his lips to hers. Harry lifted his hands from the table, where he'd placed them next to Pansy's and ran them up her ribs. As he deepened the kiss, he swiped his thumbs across the sensitive peaks, swallowing Pansy's shout of pleasure down his throat. He could get used to this.

But as much as he loved it, he was longing to feast on something else. While one hand continued to tease Pansy's hypersensitive nipples, his other slid down over her stomach, much less taut than it had been during their first tryst. It had led them around some unexpected turns, that was for sure. His fingers slid between her thighs, the light dusting of dark curls tickling his skin.

Harry could already feel the heat rolling from Pansy's core. The further he moved his fingers, the more dampness he could feel, until his digits were slipping in the slick mess of her arousal. Pansy cried out when Harry lightly pinched a nipple, while at the same time brushed across her clit for the first time. She bucked against his hand, seeking the friction. "Fuck yes, Harry. That feels so good."

Pansy's head was thrown back, eyes squeezed tight as she absorbed the feelings of pleasure and Harry soaked it all in. He removed his fingers from her nipple and gently pushed on her shoulder, guiding her to lay back on the table. Pansy complied, pushing all of the abandoned dishes away, a couple clattering to the floor and breaking. Neither of them cared at the moment; the china could be mended later with a quick spell.

Harry left a wet trail of open-mouthed kisses down Pansy's body, not missing a single inch on his way south. He even swirled his tongue in her navel before he continued his trek. When he reached his destination, he ran his tongue up her center delicately and received a sound that was half moan, half a hiss of complaint and he chuckled quietly. "Patience, my little viper. Patience."

"Don't test me, Potter. I still half want to hex your bollocks off for making me go through all of that on my own." Pansy groaned, practically writhing on the table in anticipation.

Harry couldn't help but feel the guilt at not having been able to be here, but he swept it away quickly and used his fingers to spread her lower lips. He leaned back in and ran his tongue up her true center, circling the tip around her swollen nub. Pansy arched off of the table, her moan echoing off the high ceiling of the room around them. It was then that Harry realized that the last time she had probably had any kind of sexual encounter had been with him.

Of course, the same could be said of him. But in Pansy's case, it had different connotations. Shaking himself, he returned to the task at hand and kept sternly reminding himself not to lose control and go plunging his fingers into her. Or his cock. He didn't want to hurt her after all.

XxX

Pansy had almost forgotten what pleasure felt like. Having someone - having _Harry_ \- between her legs, teasing her relentlessly, was blowing her mind at the moment. She hadn't minded the stupid restrictions the healers had put on her after having Willow. No sex for six weeks? Sure, no problem. After all, the last time she'd had sex, her beautiful cherub was the result. Pansy hadn't even thought about dating anyone until Willow was older. She definitely hadn't even dreamed that Harry would waltz back into her life and still want her.

A moan was pulled from her throat unwittingly when Harry did something sinful with his tongue. Pansy sat up on her elbows, looking down her body at the head of unruly dark hair between her legs. She carded her fingers through his hair and tugged at the strands, working her hips against Harry's tongue as it circled around her clit. "Bloody fucking hell, Harry. Just like that."

She could feel the tide of pleasure coiling in her abdomen, her breathing was erratic and she was covered in sweat. Pansy could feel her muscles flickering in anticipation of the impending orgasm she had coming. Her body was so sensitive still from having Willow, especially her nipples, and Harry was still giving attention to the hardened peaks with his free hand.

Harry gave a twist to her left nipple, the one she fed Willow from the most often, and Pansy screamed, her body arching from the table, curling around Harry's head. Pansy's entire body was trembling in pleasure as she came undone beneath Harry's talented tongue.

As Pansy's body began to relax, she laid back on the table, trying to catch her breath while Harry lapped up all of her juices. When he was sufficiently satisfied, Harry crawled up her body and kissed Pansy gently. She wrapped her legs around his hips and deepened the kiss, her tongue trailing along his lips. Pansy could taste herself on him and she moaned against his mouth. She could feel his erection at her core, through his jeans and a smirk lifted her lips as she pulled back. "Your turn."

The look that Harry gave her was almost comical, his brows rose shooting into his hair. "My turn?"

A wicked grin spread her lips wider as she lifted herself from the table, pushing Harry up as she went. Her hands immediately lifted his shirt up his torso and Pansy watched as he raised his arms. She dropped the shirt on the floor and dropped down, her arse resting on her heels.

Pansy raised her arms, her fingers trailing along Harry's inner thighs, the tips skirting around his bulging erection, just barely brushing. She heard Harry suck in on a hiss and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped, "My how you sound like a snake."

She made quick work of the button and zipper on his Muggle jeans. Harry had already begun to shove his pants down and Pansy couldn't help but grin as she helped him, tugging his briefs down. His proud erection bounced free and Pansy watched in delight.

Her delicate fingers curled around Harry's shaft and she heard him groan at the contact. Pansy trailed her thumb across the weeping slit, swirling the glistening drop around his swollen head. Harry dropped a hand to thread the fingers through her hair, exposing her face and her eyes lifted to meet his. That vivid green, darkened by his arousal, was still so disarming, intoxicating, addicting. Pansy couldn't look away as she began to pump her hand.

Harry's jaw was tight, the muscles working as his nostrils flared with his heavy breaths. Pansy could tell he was trying to pace himself to drag out the pleasure and she couldn't blame him. She wanted so much more, too. With her eyes locked on his, Pansy leaned in, balancing on her toes, and ran her tongue around the mushroom-shaped tip of Harry's cock. She moaned at the taste of him, salty after the sweetness of their dessert, but she found that she much preferred this to treacle tart.

A low groan fell from Harry's lips at the feel of Pansy's tongue and she smirked up at him before closing her lips around his girth and sucking him into the hollow of her mouth. Pansy felt Harry's fingers tighten in her hair as she relaxed her throat and let his cock slide to the back. She contracted her throat around the swollen head before she pulled back, swirling her tongue around the ridge, pulling free with a pop.

Pansy pumped her hand up and down slowly while she licked her lips, her eyes still on Harry's. "You taste much better than dessert."

Harry chuckled and bent over double to kiss Pansy, sliding his tongue in her mouth and pulling a moan from Pansy. When he released her and stood back up, Pansy went wild, sucking him back into her mouth, her fingers circling his base, holding his cock steady. With her free hand she cradled his balls, lightly squeezing them. His fingers were tight in her hair as Harry began to thrust his hips.

Pansy moved her hands to his hips and let him work her mouth. She tried to keep her eyes open, but her eyes kept watering so she closed them for just a little while, heightening the sensations. She moaned around Harry's length again, sending the vibrations into his balls. "Fuck Pansy. That feels so bloody good. I'm going to come."

She opened her eyes, wanting to see the look on Harry's face when the wave of pleasure overtook him. Harry began moving his hips erratically and Pansy kept her mouth open, throat relaxed. But when Harry got closer to the edge, she dug her nails into his hips to get him to still his movements and regained control of the situation.

Harry readjusted his grip on her hair as she bobbed her head up and down. She could feel his cock twitching in her mouth as she closed her lips around his girth and gave a hard suck on the way up. Pansy saw Harry reach over and grab the top of the chair next to him with his free hand, bracing himself. He was panting, his chest was heaving and there was a sheen of sweat along his torso, shining in the light of the candles around the dining room.

A stream of nonsense was leaving Harry's lips now, Pansy's name thrown in quite often. If she could have grinned she would have, but she had a mouthful of his cock and would soon have a tasty treat to savor. Beneath her fingers, she felt Harry's muscles tighten in his ass and hips, he gave a shout of pleasure and Pansy's eyes flashed back up to watch his face. His head was tilted back, eyes screwed shut and jaw clenched.

Just before his orgasm crested, his head dropped forward and he opened his eyes to catch hers. When his release hit, a look of pleasurable rapture changed his features. It was a look she could get used to. Pansy felt his cock jerk in her mouth, hot jets of Harry's seed shooting down her throat. She swallowed it all and pulled back, swirling her tongue around Harry's still sensitive head, then licked her lips with a smirk at Harry. "I think that was much better than treacle tart."

Harry laughed softly and pulled Pansy up, giving her a hard kiss with his hands in her hair. "Well, I certainly agree. Thank you for that."

They dissolved into a poignant silence, foreheads pressed together as Harry's breathing returned to normal. Both Harry and Pansy knew that it was time for Harry to go home, to see his friends, assure them that he was, in fact, alive and well. But Pansy could tell that Harry didn't want to go. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled their naked bodies together. The sweat made their skin sticky, but the proximity was something they both needed in that moment. "Thank you," Pansy said quietly.

The words held more than just gratitude for the mind-blowing orgasm Harry had given her. They came from a deeper place. Not just Pansy's heart, beating in her chest, but her external heart as well. Her cherub. Willow. At the thought of their daughter, she felt her eyes begin to well with unshed tears and she sniffled.

The sound alerted Harry and he tilted her chin up their eyes connecting, "Hey, what is it?"

Pansy shook her head, her arm moving to wipe a couple of fallen tears, but Harry beat her to it. "In between hating you for the entire pregnancy, being exhausted while being a single mum, then you showing up and throwing some of my anger at you, to us just spending time with Willow, I forgot to be thankful and say thank you to you. You've given me the best gift that I've ever received."

Harry smiled and kissed Pansy's forehead, "You are most welcome. And I could say the same for you. Because I have a feeling she is going to be one of the best things that will ever happen to me, too."

"I want that. I want you to be involved in Willow's life, fully. She deserves that and so do you." Pansy shivered, her body finally cool.

"Chilly? Let's get dressed. I'd like to go and see Willow one more time before I go home for the evening." Harry's voice turned sad at the thought of leaving and Pansy sighed quietly, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him gently.

Harry kissed her back, his hand trailing along her spine. "Absolutely. I always check on her before I go to bed anyway." Pansy reluctantly pulled away and redressed while Harry did the same. When they were both dressed, Pansy led the way through the halls, back to Willow's room.

Pansy gently opened the door and smiled at their sleeping daughter, while leaning against the frame of the doorway. Harry walked past her to look over the edge of the crib. He glanced back at Pansy, a question in those suggestive green eyes. Pansy walked over and wrapped an arm around Harry's waist. "What?"

"Is it safe to give her a kiss? I don't want to wake her." Harry whispered when she was close enough.

"Of course. I usually lean over and give her one. Go ahead." Pansy smiled at him and watched as he leaned over the crib, an easier feat for him than it was for her, and gave Willow a kiss on her little head. She thought she heard him whisper something, but she wasn't sure.

Harry stood back up and smiled down at Pansy, who took her own turn at giving her cherub a kiss and then turned for the door. She heard Harry following her out and looked back to see him pulling the door partially shut again. Pansy started walking towards her room and stepped through the doors with Harry following, her voice wavering slightly. "Well, I guess this is goodnight, then?"

A solemn nod from Harry made her heart ache. "I guess so." He paused for long moment, just looking at Pansy in the few feet that separated them, longing in his eyes.

Suddenly, Pansy was struck with a fear that she wouldn't see him again. That he'd get called away on another assignment and something would happen to him this time. Merlin, she was starting to sound like a bloody Hufflepuff. But it was the truth, she was utterly terrified. So much so, that when he opened his arms, she leapt across the small space and buried her face in his chest, her voice soft as a mouse's squeak when she quietly said, "Stay? Please, stay. Don't go."


	4. An Unexpected Visit

**A/N: Trysties! It's been a while, yeah? Sorry about that. I won't drone on about this chapter, except to say that it's not as long as the others, which were 7k+. But it is well over 5k. So it's a good chunk. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or magical world JK created. Just the plot of this story that I am weaving.**

 **XoXo,**

 **Elle**

Chapter 3

It nearly broke Harry's heart to hear the fear and pleading in Pansy's voice. But at the same time, he rejoiced in the fact that she wanted him to stay. Who was he to tell her no? His arms were wound tightly around her, head turned to tuck his nose into her hair. "I won't. I'll stay. I'll stay right here with you. I won't ever leave you again."

Harry knew that her insecurities and fear ran deeper than she was letting on. He had seen the utter terror in her eyes as she'd closed the distance between them moments before. Pansy was terrified that if she let him out of her sight, he'd get called away again. That he might not make it back next time. But she had nothing to fear.

Pansy's grip tightened around his waist and he felt her body start to quake in his arms. Hot tears dampened his neck where her face was buried and Harry held her through it, rubbing her back. "Shh, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

The sobs subsided in minutes, and Pansy lifted her head. Harry wiped her tears away with a small smile. "Sorry, these fucking hormones. They're still all out of sorts."

Harry stroked her cheek with a soft smile, noticing how she still avoided locking eyes with him for more than a second. "I can understand that. Can you look at me for a minute?" When her gaze caught his, he smiled fully and continued on. "I fully intend on staying tonight as well as all day tomorrow. Just wanted to put that out there first, but I do need to go home and gather some clothes and let Ron and Ginny know that I am alive. I'm sure Hermione has informed them that I am. But I'm sure that all three of them want to yell at me. I won't be more than an hour. I'll set my wand to alarm for forty-five minutes and then I'll be back to you. How is that?"

Pansy gave him a nod, stepping back from him to wipe her eyes. "Okay, I can handle that. Merlin, I feel so weak, acting this way."

"You are the opposite of weak, Pansy. Go take a long bath and relax, I'll be back in no time." Harry met her eyes and gripped her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, drawing her in for a kiss. Pansy returned his kiss and he could feel her eyes on his back as he turned to go back to the parlor and Floo home to Grimmauld Place.

When he stumbled out of the fireplace, he dusted the ashes from his clothes. He had barely looked up when a ball of red hair flew into his mouth, choking him. A pair of slim arms slid around his neck and squeezed, choking the life from him. When he managed to break free, he was looking at Ginny and shaking his head, "It's nice to see you again too, Gin."

But the niceties were out of her system because she began smacking Harry everywhere she could get her hands on him. "How. Dare. You. Not. Contact. Anyone. We. Thought. You. Were. Dead."

Harry backed up quickly, trying to get away from her, but she followed. Pansy hadn't even been this violent and she had a better reason to be. "Look, Gin! I couldn't contact anyone but the Minister and I was too pissed at him. I'm sorry. But I'm alive and home. So please, stop hitting me!"

The assault stopped, but only because Ron had come up behind Ginny and wrapped his arms around his sister. "She knows that. I told her as much a thousand times. But we were all worried mate. No word for nine months is a long time."

Harry moved over to the couch and sat down, running a hand through his unruly hair, a smile lifting his lips as he reminisced Pansy running her fingers through it. "Trust me, I know. But when the only person I could contact was Kingsley, I wasn't exactly in the mood to write to him. He could have done that differently. He could have given me the information and let me delegate it. Send a team after Rabastan. Instead, he ruined my night and made me miss the...something." Harry finished lamely.

Ginny's gaze narrowed on Harry. He could feel it burning into his forehead as she stood across the room, arms crossed. "Where have you been all evening? Hermione said she saw you just before the Ministry closed, then you left to go apologize to someone."

"Where is she anyway?" Harry asked, looking around for Hermione. He wanted her to be here when he told them all about Willow and he only had about thirty minutes left.

"Probably on her way home from dinner with Malfoy. They're dating now. When he's not over at Pansy's, doing Merlin only knows what. I think it's a bad idea, but Hermione won't listen to me. Maybe she'll listen to you. She always did listen to you better." Ron complained as the front door opened and Hermione's voice could be heard, followed by Malfoy's behind her.

They were talking about the emergency that Malfoy had to go and take care of, which had forced him to send Willow and Moppy back to Pansy's manor. But Harry didn't catch what had actually happened, because as they rounded the corner, they stopped talking. "Harry! Welcome home." Hermione smiled, walking over to hug him, a blush on her cheeks at having been caught.

"I'm glad you finally saw some sense. That man has been pining after you for a while. Don't listen to Ron," Harry whispered in Hermione's ear. She giggled and sat down beside him, looking over at Draco with a shy smile.

Draco walked over and extended his hand. "Potter, I'm glad you're finally home."

Harry could hear the double meaning in those words, and gave Draco a nod, adding his own double meaning into his words, gripping Draco's hand in an extra tight squeeze. "Thank you." He then turned to Ron and Ginny who had taken seats in the arm chairs across the way. "Gin, you asked where I'd been. Before I get into that, I suppose I'd better start at the beginning. Though, I'm not going to regale you with the Rabastan tale, because it's not worth repeating. Just a bunch of cat and mouse. The day of the gala, when Ron and I agreed to meet in the Leaky, I had a run in with an old schoolmate of ours."

At this, he paused to look over at Ron, who nodded, then glanced at Draco, who was grinning. "Pansy Parkinson. She tripped over someone's foot and fell onto me. The whole thing lasted about two minutes and she was out the back, into Diagon Alley. I had been shocked that it was her, because I hadn't truly seen her since before the war. So later, at the gala, I found her. We talked for a few minutes, before she made an escape to Draco's side. But I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She said something that upset Draco and he took off to talk to Hermione, who had finally arrived, and I was there behind Pansy. We left not long after that and went to her place. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks with what happened next."

"So that's why you didn't give your speech? You weren't sick! You were too busy getting shagged!" Ron laughed, shaking his head.

Harry couldn't help that his eyes trailed over to Ginny. He didn't want this revelation to hurt her. She caught his gaze and smiled at him, "I'm fine, Harry. Besides, I've started seeing someone too, while you've been gone. Now, get on with your story."

Harry gave her a smile and nodded. "We had taken a nap, and I woke up to Kingsley's edict, calling me away. I tried waking Pansy, but couldn't, so I left her a note, telling her I would owl soon and left straight away. But little did I know it was an undercover. So the first place I went, after checking in with Hermione at the Ministry, was to Pansy's so that I could apologize to her. I used the Floo to call her first, so that I didn't barge in unwanted. An elf answered, but I could hear voices off in the distance and heard Pansy tell that blond git over there that she would be right back. She came in and we agreed on fifteen minutes. When I got there, we were talking about why I had to go, and then the elf appeared again. Pansy left the room to speak with her. When she returned, Pansy appeared on edge and anxious even to get the conversation over with. So we started arguing and I raised my voice, because I was getting frustrated that she wouldn't see my point. She had just told me to lower my voice and no sooner than I had asked why, than I heard a baby wail."

At that, there were gasps around the room. Hermione and Ginny both had their hands over their mouths and Ron's was just hanging open. Draco, however, was just sitting there with that grin. "Pansy stood there for a moment then left, heading for the baby. I followed her. The baby had a tight tummy, so she put the baby on her shoulder to burp it. I was asking Pansy if it was mine. And when Pansy turned her back on me, the baby and I looked right at each other, with the same emerald green eyes. So, yeah, I'm a dad." He finished lamely.

On the other end of the couch, Draco chuckled, shaking his head. "Such a build up there, Potter, to only fizzle out at the end."

"Shove off, Malfoy." Harry glared down at the blond. "Her name is Willow Joy. And she is a mixture of both Pansy and myself. She was born on February 10th. Draco is her godfather and has been helping Pansy the whole time I've been gone. He was there for her entrance into this world, and for that, I will never be able to repay him. Thank you, Draco. And Hermione," Harry turned his body toward his best friend on the couch, taking her hands in his. She was still in shock, tears in her eyes. It was understandable, it wasn't every day that you learned your best friend had a secret child. "I would be most honored, Pansy as well, if you would be her godmother."

Hermione smiled at Harry and nodded. "Yes, I'd love that. Thank you, Harry." She leaned in and hugged Harry around the neck. "When can we meet her?"

The question was echoed by Ron and Ginny, Harry couldn't help but grin, "I'll ask Pansy and let you guys know." Harry's wand began to alarm and he smiled at his friends. "But for now, I need to gather some clothes and head back. I told Pansy I would stay tonight."

Harry rose from the couch and was bombarded with hugs from his friends, "I'm so happy for you, Harry. You always wanted a family of your own. I can't wait to meet Willow, I bet she's beautiful." Ginny said, a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Gin. And I can't wait to meet whoever you're dating." Harry replied, kissing her cheek and heading upstairs to Sirius' old room. He summoned a bag from the closet and soon the clothes followed. He didn't know how many he'd need, so he packed enough for a few days. When he was done, he summoned his toothbrush and paste from the attached bathroom and looked around the space, wondering if he would ever come back here. Or if Pansy would leave her place. The knock on his door shook him free of this thoughts, "Come in."

Hermione stuck her head around the door, but Draco pushed the wooden panel wide. "We're coming with you, Potter."

Harry laughed softly, zipping his bag up. "That's up to you. And you'll be the one facing Pansy's wrath if you wake up Willow. She's down for the night. Or at least until-"

"Two or three. Yeah, I know the drill. I've been there done that, remember?" Draco grinned at Harry. "Besides, I owe Pans an apology for having to leave so suddenly and sending Willow back. Though I'm sure you're not sorry I had to."

Harry shook his head, "No, not sorry at all. Well, if you're coming, we need to go. Time's almost up." Harry went to leave the bedroom, heading back to the Floo.

Draco just shook his head and grabbed both Harry and Hermione, Apparating them away to Pansy's place.

XxX

Pansy had taken Harry's advice and ran a tub full of hot water. She had stripped her body naked and climbed in the bubbles, the water relaxing her muscles, but it did nothing to calm her racing mind, or stop her from checking her wand for the time every five minutes. Anything could happen in the time that Harry was gone and it had her nerves on edge. "Moppy!"

The little elf appeared in the marble expanse, her eyes drooping at the edges, "Yes, Mistress?"

"Is Willow sleeping soundly?" Pansy asked, knowing her daughter would still be out like a light. But the elf obliged her nonetheless, disappearing and reappearing with a pop, giving her report. "Thank you, Moppy. You may retire for the night."

Pansy had had enough of this bath. It had done nothing to relax her. She rose from the water, hearing it splash back down into the tub. The towel floated over to her, already warm, and she wrapped it around her body. Out in her room, she looked around, vividly remembering her night with Harry. Suddenly, she couldn't wait for the next few weeks to be over with. Pansy went into her closet and pulled on another baggy shirt and lycra pants. It was the easiest thing to do. Especially when she had to change multiple times a day when Willow spit up on her. There was only so much a _Scourgify_ could do.

She levitated the towel into the hamper and left her room, walking the short distance to Willow's room. The door opened quietly and she slipped in to check on the sleeping baby herself. Pansy leaned over the crib and watched as the tiny chest rose and fell under the light blanket, Willow's mouth open in a tiny 'O'. "My sweet cherub, you're so beautiful."

The pop of apparition caught Pansy's ear, she left Willow behind, and headed for the parlor. She nearly ran straight into Harry, who was coming out of the parlor. "Woah! Harry! How did you apparate here?"

"Hey, Pans." Draco's voice echoed out of the parlor and Pansy looked around Harry.

Hazel eyes blinked in surprise, seeing the brunette at her best friend's side. "Hey, Draco. Hello, Hermione. Uh, Draco, what are you doing here? Not that I don't mind that you're here."

"I came to apologize for having to leave Willow like I did. I never would have if I didn't have to. But I feel like shite for having to do it and I'm sorry." Draco's eyes were full of remorse and Pansy gave him an apologetic smile.

"It's fine, Draco. You know, I am becoming to understand an Auror's job a little more now." Pansy smiled up at Harry and took his hand, giving it a squeeze, turning her eyes back to the other pair standing in her parlor. They were standing close together, arms brushing, fingers touching, but they weren't holding hands. Draco hadn't mentioned anything about them dating, but Pansy supposed she'd had a lot going on. "I assume Harry told you everything, Hermione?"

The curly haired woman nodded, giving Pansy a smile, "Yes, he did. Thank you for the honor of being her godmother. I was perfectly happy to wait like everyone else to see her, but someone else had other plans." Hermione looked up at Draco with a playful grin and narrowed eyes. "So I am sorry for intruding at such a late hour."

Pansy chuckled softly as she leaned into Harry, "It's no problem, really. I have a newborn, my sleep schedule is nonexistent. She'll be awake in a couple of hours anyway, ready to eat again. So we can all sit and chat. I'll just go set the monitoring charms, in case she doesn't wake up screaming, like she normally does."

As Pansy went to leave, Harry held onto her hand and pulled her back into his body, using his free hand to tilt her chin up and give her a kiss. Pansy blushed a deep crimson as Draco and Hermione looked away, Draco clearing his throat in his own embarrassment. "Sorry, I had to," Harry whispered against her lips as he let her go.

Pansy wandered down the hall, stopping in Willow's the crib, making sure she was still sleeping, and began casting the monitoring charms on her way out. When she got back to the parlor, everyone was sitting down and chatting quietly. She smiled and went to sit beside Harry. "If anyone wants anything, you'll have to get it yourselves. All my elves have retired for the night and I'm not going to wake them."

Everyone laughed at that, even Pansy as she leaned against Harry. She knew she had said that she couldn't just jump into things with him, but it was so damn easy. He was easy to talk to, easy to be with and he felt familiar, like home. He understood her, without having to explain herself. Pansy was in deep trouble. A nudge in the ribs pulled her out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

"Hermione asked you a question," Harry answered, his lips moving against her temple.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I spaced out. What was your question?" Pansy asked, lifting her head from Harry's lips.

Hermione gave her a grin. "I asked what the most challenging thing about motherhood has been so far."

Pansy looked up at Harry and gave him an apologetic glance, then threw one to Draco, "I'd have to say the most challenging thing, has been doing it mostly alone. But I know that is about to change. The second most challenging thing has been learning to put myself second, always. And to learn to function on next to no sleep. But it has all been worth it. Every sleepless night, every stained shirt, and every dirty nappy. It's worth it. Willow is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Tears had misted Pansy's eyes and she could see them in Hermione's eyes as well, both women laughed awkwardly as they wiped their eyes. "I can't wait to experience that, then."

The way Hermione said that had Pansy tilting her head, but she kept her thoughts to herself. "So how long have the two of you been dating?"

Draco glared at Pansy, but she ignored it. The Malfoy death glare didn't scare her. Hermione's cheeks pinked as she answered, "Um, well, since the gala, I guess. He asked me to dinner that night." Hermione looked up at Draco with a love-filled gaze, which Draco returned. It was about damn time, if Pansy said so herself. She and Harry exchanged amused glances and a chaste kiss.

"Well, I'm glad he finally found his balls. I'd been pressing him to ask you out for a year. I'm happy for-" Pansy was cut off by the monitoring charms picking up the sound of Willow rooting around and fussing a bit. Harry went to get up, but Pansy shook her head. "Give it a minute."

After a couple of minutes, Willow started to quiet back down and get still, but Pansy wanted to check on her anyway. "I'm going to check on her. Hermione, do you want to come?"

Hermione looked surprised to have been asked, but nodded, rising from her spot next to Draco. She leaned down to give the blond a quick kiss and followed Pansy down the hall. "Thank you for letting me come. I'm so excited to get to see her."

"You're welcome. If she's awake, I'll let you hold her. I'll have to feed her, though. Harry gave her the last bottle earlier." Pansy smiled at Hermione. They stepped through the door into the nursery and she heard Hermione suck in a breath, those tears returning to her eyes. It was a slow and subtle movement, but Hermione's hand dropped unconsciously to her abdomen. "How far along are you?" Pansy asked quietly.

That head of bushy hair snapped around, eyes going wide in shock. Pansy nodded to the hand still on Hermione's pelvis. Hermione's cheeks pinked in embarrassment. "Just a few weeks. It happened after our first time. I haven't told him yet. I'm scared to." Her multi-hued chocolate eyes turned to the baby in the crib as she stepped closer. "She's beautiful, Pansy. Absolutely stunning."

Pansy stepped up beside Hermione and placed a hand over hers. "I know he can seem aloof sometimes, like he doesn't care. But trust me, that man has pined after you for years. Even while we were in school and he couldn't show it. And I think, once you see him with Willow, any doubts you have will evaporate." A cough brought Pansy's head around to see those wide, innocent green eyes open. "Hello, my cherub, did you decide to wake up early? Let's get you a fresh nappy." Pansy stretched her arms out and lifted Willow from the crib, kissing her head.

The pair of women moved over to the changing table and Pansy changed Willow's nappy, buttoning up her Quidditch pajamas again, before handing her carefully over to Hermione. "Mind her head, there you go." as soon as Willow was settled in Hermione's arms, she burst into tears. Pansy couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips. She remembered those volatile hormones so well. "Ahh, the hormones. Get used to those, girl. If you ever need to talk, feel free to come see me."

Hermione looked up at her and gave her a watery smile, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. She really does have Harry's eyes. I can't get over how beautiful she is."

"I've had almost a month with her and I still can't get over it. Come on, let's go back to the boys." Hermione nodded and they began the trek down the hall, those brown eyes of Hermione's locked on the baby in her arms. They rounded the corner into the parlor and Pansy noticed how Draco's face changed and softened at the appearance of Hermione holding Willow. A look of love and longing graced his features.

Hermione went to hand Willow over to Pansy, but she shook her head, "No, you go ahead. I'll get her when she gets hungry." Hermione could use the practice anyway, though she would excel at motherhood, too. Just as she excelled at everything else. Pansy watched as she went to sit beside Draco, who immediately planted a kiss on Willow's unruly hair and began talking to his 'Doodlebug'. Pansy turned and smiled at Harry, walking over to resume her seat next to him, curling against his side. "They would make a cute family." Pansy whispered quietly as she watched the couple across from them with Willow.

"They really would." Harry whispered back, causing Pansy to shiver as his breath traveled past her ear. She wasn't sure she could make it two more weeks before jumping his bones, if he kept things like this up. Of course, just being in his proximity was like lighting a fire in her cauldron. How had she never noticed it in school?

A cry from Willow brought her attention back, but Draco gently took her from Hermione and switched her to his shoulder, cradling her head and tucking her legs under her, his large hand patting her nappy and snitch covered bum. "Sometimes she gets bored of laying down like that and likes to look around. She's nosy, like her mum. Isn't that right, Doodlebug?" Draco glanced up briefly at Pansy and Pansy stuck her tongue out at him. Then he returned to being the sun in Hermione's world. Until those brown eyes caught Pansy's, and Pansy gave her an encouraging nod, followed by a questioning look. But Hermione gave a subtle shake of her head and turned back to Draco.

Pansy leaned her head on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes, letting a soft sigh free. She felt Harry's lips on the crown of her head and smiled. "Thank you for coming back."

"Of course. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now." Harry replied.

"All of our lives are about to change, for the better." Pansy sat up to look into those disarming green eyes, her hand coming up to cup his cheek. Harry smiled at her and leaned in to give her a kiss.

When the pair of them broke away, they heard Hermione's quiet voice across the way, "You're so good with her. Do you want kids of your own?"

Harry turned his head to look at his best friend and then turned back to Pansy with a raised brow. Pansy just shrugged and put her finger to her lips. "Let's just talk quietly amongst ourselves."

"But shouldn't we give them some space?" Harry inquired. Pansy probably would have, in any other situation, but she knew that Hermione wanted the moral support, so here they would stay, in their own little world.

Pansy smiled at Harry, stroking the stubble on his chin, "Oh, my dear Gryffindor. When are you going to learn? Besides, I can't go too far, our daughter will be screaming soon enough, wanting to eat." Pansy glanced over at the other couple in the room.

Draco had gone quiet after Hermione had asked him about kids, he had frozen up, his eyes staring straight ahead, but his hand still moving on Willow's back. If Pansy had been sitting across from him at a table, she'd have kicked his shin. But as it were, she sent a small stinging jinx his way to jolt him free. He hissed, jerking his leg that had been hit. "Kids? Of my own? I'd never really thought about it. Until after the war was over. Because I wasn't sure I would make it through the war."

"Pansy, I really think we should give them some space." Harry whispered quietly.

Pansy sighed as she looked at Harry, "I would, but Hermione wants the support. And you saw how Draco froze up just now."

A frown wrinkled Harry's brow at the mention of Hermione needing support, "Support? For what?" Harry looked at Pansy, then glanced at Hermione, who was glancing back and forth between Draco and the baby. Barely concealed tears shimmered in her eyes. After a few moments, it dawned on Harry just where their conversation was heading and his voice dropped to an almost inaudible level, "She's pregnant?"

"Yes. Now, shhh." Pansy replied, looking back over to the pair on the other couch.

Draco now had Willow sitting on his knee, supporting her head and was talking to her, but addressing Hermione. "I would love to have kids someday, after I'm married and settled in. And I hope to Merlin that it's with you."

Pansy watched as Hermione wiped at a stray tear that had escaped her eye and Draco's notice. "Well, we may have to switch some of those plans around."

The funny face that Draco had been making at Willow disappeared as he turned his head to look at Hermione, what little color he had paling further. "What do you mean?"

Hermione lifted her hand to run a finger along Willow's cheek, smiling down at the little baby, leaning down to kiss her hair and inhale. She spoke while her nose was still against Willow's scalp. "We're going to have one of these in about eight months."

If Draco hadn't been holding Willow, Pansy was sure he probably would have jumped Hermione or fainted. He seemed to be walking a fine line between both. "We are? You're pregnant?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded, a nervous smile on her lips. She seemed to still be unsure of what Draco's reaction was.

Draco moved Willow to his shoulder and held her with one arm, wrapping Hermione up with the other and dragging her in for a kiss. "I'm going to be a father. Thank you. I love you. Will you move in with me?"

Pansy blinked at the sudden question, but at least it wasn't a proposal. It was actually a topic that she and Harry needed to discuss. Pansy barely heard Hermione's murmured "Yes" before Willow started to grunt, rooting around on Draco's shoulder. When she couldn't find what she was looking for, she began to cry.

Draco rose from the couch and walked over, handing Willow to Pansy, after giving her a kiss. Pansy smiled up at him. "Congratulations, Draco." She carefully lifted her shirt, covering Willow's face, pulling the elastic bra down and allowing Willow to latch on. "It's really late and the two of you are more than welcome to stay here."

Harry stood from the couch to go and talk to his best friend, while Draco talked with Pansy. "I appreciate it, Pans. But I think I want to take her home. And celebrate." He grinned at her and Pansy shook her head.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Draco. Just don't get pulled away on a secret assignment." Pansy laughed ruefully, wincing when Willow made a particularly hard pull. "You two have a good night."

Draco gave her a nod and leant down to kiss the top of her head. He walked over and began talking to Harry, and Hermione made her way over to where Pansy was sitting, "She is beautiful, Pansy. And thank you so much for giving me the courage to tell him. And for staying while I did."

Pansy gave her a smile, "Don't mention it. I meant what I said earlier, if you ever need to talk, just pop on over."

Hermione bent down and gently hugged Pansy. "I'll remember that. Thank you again, Pansy. Goodnight."

"Night, Hermione." Pansy smiled and adjusted Willow, lifting her shirt to peek at the nursing baby, listening while Harry said his goodbyes.

When they were alone, Harry came back to sit by Pansy's side and draped his arm over her shoulders. "Wow, I didn't expect that. How's she eating?"

Pansy moved with care and pulled her shirt from her body, allowing Harry to see Willow eating clearly. "She's doing good. Probably about time for a burp." She pulled Willow free, who immediately started to throw a fit and Pansy laughed softly as she propped her up on her shoulder and started to pat her back forcefully. "Yeah, it was a little shocking to me, too. I always pictured Hermione as someone who would be more careful - not that she I'm saying she isn't, accidents happen all the time. But I am happy for the pair of them."

The burp sounded by her ear and Pansy laid Willow back in her arms, switching breasts and wincing when Willow latches on forcefully. "I'm just so surprised still. And she's moving in with him, too." Harry let that sentence hang in the air, but Pansy knew he was thinking about it. Just as much as she was.

"What are we going to do? I have this whole place and you have Grimmauld Place. My parents are locked away in Azkaban for life and I would hate to let this place fall into disrepair," Pansy said, looking around the opulent parlor decorated by her mum.

Harry sighed next to her, his hand coming up to brush Willow's hair off her forehead. "Well, Ron, Ginny and Hermione live with me at Grimmauld Place. Or Hermione did. I suppose I could leave it to Ron and Ginny, sign it over to them and move in here. That way we have our privacy. Speaking of those two, they were wondering when they could come and meet Willow."

Pansy smiled, looking down at the infant in her arms, who was starting to drift back off to sleep. Willow was drinking slower, stopping on occasion when she would slip into sleep, only to rouse herself back up and go back to eating. "I don't see why they can't stop by tomorrow evening. We could have dinner." Pansy lifted Willow from her breast, back to her shoulder, her daughter too sleepy to protest this time, and helped her burp. "But for now, this little one will sleep until about eight in the morning and we can get some rest, too." Pansy used her free hand to slide her bra back over her breasts and stood, cradling Willow in her arms. Harry stood after her and held his arms out. Pansy happily handed their daughter over with a smile.

Once Willow was laid in her crib again, Harry and Pansy walked the short distance to her room. "I'll let them know tomorrow morning." Pansy quickly changed into her pajamas and climbed into the bed, watching as Harry stripped down to his pants. She couldn't get over how well defined he was and wished she could thank the inventors of Quidditch.

When he joined her in bed, she curled up right against him, her exhausted eyes already closing. "Thank you for staying."

"I would do anything for you and Willow, Pansy. Even give up my life." Harry replied, a yawn leaving his lips. Pansy smiled at his words, the conviction behind them clear as she inhaled slowly, his masculine scent filling her lungs and calming her, sending her off into a peaceful sleep.


End file.
